What if I was in SAO?
by Mega Trainer
Summary: Haven't you ever wondered what would happen to you if you were a part of the 10k players to enter Aincrad? I did and now I've put it into a story. You all will read about my exploits in the Virtual world and how I interact with Kirito, Asuna, Agil, Klein, etc. I will be trying to keep the story as ACCURATE as I can! THIS STORY HAS BEEN PUT ON HIATUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
1. Chapter 1

_**Hello all! My name is Mega Trainer but you can just call me MT!**_

_**I recently finished a Soul Eater fanfic and had this idea mulling around in my head for awhile.**_

**_'What if I had been one of the ten thousand to enter Aincrad?'_**

**_I'm an avid fan of SAO because I'm such a tech nerd and the science behind everything is my favorite._**

**_Anyways, I will be writing this fic based on my personality and it will be first person. I plan on making this a separate story from Kirito's but I will be interacting with him and bringing him into the story randomly. I also plan to bring in the other characters since we don't really know what happened to them when Kirito wasn't interacting with them_**

**_ENJOY!_**

**_UPDATED 7/15/15_**

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**Chapter 1**

_Today is November 6, 2022. Today is a giant leap in the world of Virtual Reality. Some time ago, a genius scientist known as Akihiko Kayaba developed a revolutionary device that was capable of bringing people's minds to the Virtual plane. Despite the new level of technology, it couldn't be properly used. The only games that could be used for such a device were things like learning games or mind games, nothing special. That is, until today. Kayaba developed the first VRMMORPG and today it has been released._

_Sadly, I wasn't able to be a part of the Beta Test (Curse my luck!) but I kept up with a blog that one of the beta testers kept. The way he described this new world made me ache for the release of the game and now, today, it has been released._

_I was one of the first people in line to get one of the only ten thousand copies to be sold. As soon as I had the game in my hands, I clutched it to my chest and ran home to get on it as soon as possible. My parents didn't really understand because they aren't the best with technology and my younger brother has never been one for RPGs. I've _always _been entranced by them, the interactions, the stories, quests, etc. They always fascinated me._

_Excuse me, I just realized I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Shikari Tatakai. I am 25 years old and am currently living with my parents while I find a better job than my boring office job. Anyways, enough about me, I really want to get in this game._

"Link Start!" I shouted before seeing a bright rainbow of colors. I watched as 5 blue circles appeared and turned green, checking off that each of my five senses were connected. The login screen then came up and I entered my username 'Shikai' and my password. I'm pretty lazy when it comes to names and a lot of my friends just make up a name by using parts of our names. It doesn't really matter, though, as the game's beauty will end up out-shadowing my name anyways.

I could see the giant sign that said 'Welcome to Sword Art Online'. I could practically feel my heart race in anticipation. There was another flash of colors, this time blue, almost looking like lightning. In the next moment, everything was black. I tried to open my eyes and found myself in some castle looking area. I looked down and could see my feet before bringing up my hands. I clutched them a few times, trying to get a feel for the familiar sensations.

I smiled to myself as I had finally entered the game.

I went online before playing to make my avatar. Nothing special, though, just some short black hair and fair colored skin. I inputted my real height and made my waist line around the same as my real one. I wore a blue shirt and leather braces, like the other avatars, with some dark brown knuckle gloves and boots. Some black pants to boot.

Within a moment I could hear short buzzes from all around me and I realized that other people were logging in. This must have been the starting city from the blog. I read that the city was enormous and I was only in its center. I began to jump around in excitement before running off in a random direction, away from the crowds. I went straight for the thing I remembered from the blog, the gesture to open the menu. I found myself a quiet alley and began to browse the menu, quickly finding what I assumed to be an equipment menu, which could be hinted by the person with arrows pointing to different parts of their body.

I figured out how to equip the starting sword, whose stats might I add were CRAP! Still, what can I expect from starter equipment? Well, just gonna have to save up for that.

I found that my inventory was almost completely empty, save for an item called a 'teleport crystal' and 'healing potion' along with the sword and outfit I had on. I decided that I could go through this more later. There would probably be a wiki up in a week and that would help me learn all the mechanics fairly quickly. When I looked around, I realized that this city, with its more narrow and crowded spaces, was not a good place to practice fighting. I managed to find my way outside the city and found the rolling fields with thin dirt roads leading out into the great expanses. I was staring in awe, my mouth dropping. The work that must have gone into designing this game must have been _immense. _When I looked up, there was a box floating in the air and said 'Floor 1: Town of Beginnings, North Field'. I only saw a few people out so I should probably run a good distance before the crowds arrive.

* * *

I spent around 10 minutes just running and man did it feel good to run without getting tired. I loved it! Being the running enthusiast that I am, that is.

I found myself a decent sized field near the edge of a forest and pulled out my sword. I had heard that there was something in this game called 'Sword Skills' and that they were to assist you in fighting. Notice I say 'assist' because I don't really plan on using them all that much. I've always been fascinated by swords and, even though I've never practiced, I've always looked up videos on sword technique and read lots of manga and books.

Despite that, those skills _are _in the game. Might as well try them out.

I stretched out my arm so that the sword was in front of me and I tried to focus on activating a skill. Nope. No luck. I then tried getting into a stance I remembered from a movie I watched about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. I felt something click and the sword began to glow a bright orange. I allowed the skill to take over and performed some quick sword movements. The combo broke and I had control over myself again.

Hmm…I wonder, can I control that? I moved into the same stance and the sword glowed again. I refused to allow it to dictate my movements and I sliced in a different way than before, causing the swords glow to fade. I continued slashing at the air, not using the skill as guidance, and I panted from the exertion when I finished. I grinned at the fact that I could freely practice sword play. I'd always wanted to learn but both lacked the space and a sword to practice with. Now I had both.

Now to look for monsters (or as I like to call them mobs).

As I looked around and approached the forest I found a wild boar with glowing red eyes. He was an odd bluish color, not very appealing. Meh, beggars can't be choosers. I moved into a battle stance, careful not to activate my Sword Skill, and ran at the boar who charged at me as well. Just before we collided, I leap to the side and sliced at its side as it ran by. The boar squealed in pain and I watched its health bar decrease by half. I grinned and the boar circled around before stopping. He glared at me and kicked up dust before charging at me again. This time I positioned my sword in front of his face and, at the last moment, pierced straight into the boar's face. I watched its HP drop to zero and then it blew up in a blast of small squares, blue and turquoise in color.

A moment later a white screen appeared in front of me, startling me a bit. I inspected it and found that I had earned some experience, two items, and Col. I remember reading in the blog that Col was money in this game, so that was cool. I swiped on the screen and it gave me a list of items that I obtained. Just some boar meat and a hide. Nothing special.

Despite the lack of exciting things I gained, I was grinning brightly. My first kill in this new game. It's awesome! I can't wait to fight more powerful mobs, like lizard monsters or golems and such.

I spent a good three hours just exploring my menus and fighting boars, going on and off of using my Sword Skills. It was already around 5:25pm. I went around in my menu, looking for an icon similar to the ones from other games that signified the logout button. It was usually some kind of rectangle with an arrow coming out of it. I ended up finding said button fairly quickly, but my breath hitched when I inspected it further. The icon was there on the button, but there was no text. No words signifying that this was indeed the button I thought it was. I tried pressing it despite the lack of text but it did nothing. I went through my memory, trying to see if I found another button labeled 'Log out', but found none. I must have gone over the menu a thousand times but I never bothered searching for a log out button.

W-Well, it just came out, must be a bug right? I'm never one to panic, though this kind of issue does make me nervous. I'm glad I left a note for my family to see. This technology is new so I told them not to take off the helmet, cut the power, or cut the internet. I studied this technology and found out that it puts you in a state as if you are dreaming. No telling what could happen to me if I was suddenly yanked out of it.

Suddenly, I heard a loud bell ringing in the distance. I looked back and could see the bell ringing in the bell tower in town. I was confused by the ringing until something took my full attention. I was suddenly engulfed in bright light and everything went white for a moment. In the next moment, I found myself in the same place I came when I first entered the game. The plaza in the center of the Town of Beginnings. Was this what they called a forced teleport? I've heard about these in regular MMOs but it never happened to me. It usually happened during an event.

I heard loud whispering and people shouting around me and I followed their fingers which were pointing towards the sky. I looked up and saw a single, hexagonal notification in the bluish sky. It was flashing and something about the blood red sign, the word 'WARNING' written across it, sent a shiver down my spine. What the hell was going on?

The next moment only made it worse when the entire sky was painted blood red and red goop seeped from it to form a giant red hooded figure who floated in mid-air. The inside of his cloak was pitch black, like the way you would imagine the cloak of the Grim Reaper to look like.

The figure spread its arms as it said, "Attention, Players! I welcome you to my world."

His world? Could it be Kayaba?

"My name is Akihiko Kayaba and as of this moment, I am in control of this world," continued Kayaba, holding his pose and looking down on us. A thousand images of the articles I read about the man, pictures of him, articles about the Nerve gear, flashed through my mind.

"I'm sure most of you have already noticed an item missing from your main menu, the log out button. I can assure you that this is not a defect in the game, I repeat it is not a defect. This is how Sword Art Online was supposed to be. You cannot log yourself out from SAO and nobody from the outside can forcibly log you out. If they try, a microwave transmitter in the Nerve gear will emit a signal into your skull, destroying your brain, and ending your life," continued Kayaba. The crowd around me began to become agitated, began to scream and shout. I heard some people behind me shouting louder than the rest and I turned to see what was going on.

I heard them shouting about how they couldn't leave the plaza and I saw them pounding on some invisible wall, causing ripples with each punch. I was frozen in place, my eyes wide saucers. I heard Kayaba continue, and my face flew back in his direction.

"Despite my warning, the families of some of the players have attempted to remove the Nerve gears. Because of this, we now have 213 less players. They have been deleted from both Aincrad and the real world," continued the man who was slowly being changed in my heart from admiration to hatred. I didn't hear what he said afterward. I was too busy praying, forming signs of the cross repeatedly, hoping my parents wouldn't take off my Nerve gear. They didn't understand technology like I do and would probably not believe the news.

The next words that I couldn't believe came out of Kayaba's mouth. If my HP drops to zero, I die in the real world. The world that I came to, to escape the real world, was now becoming my new real world. Granted I was pretty good at dodging when I was fighting the boars before, but I don't know if I could do that forever. A moment later, he answered my internal question. He said that once we make it to the hundredth floor, and cleared the game, we could log out. I was relieved that we had a way out, but I heard that the beta testers barely got up several floors in months. There was just no way.

"Last but not least, I have placed a little present in the item storage of every player. Please, have a look," Kayaba said, attracting my attention. I immediately went into my item storage, hoping it would be something like a get out of jail for free card, and I laughed at myself, knowing I wouldn't be so lucky.

I found an item called a Mirror and when I clicked on it, one manifested in front of me. I caught it and glanced at myself, before being enveloped in light. A moment later the light dissipated and I looked at myself in the mirror again. I was exactly like I was in the real world, physique, face, hair length, etc. Finally, I heard Kayaba mention something about why he created this world, however I showed little interest. He said that the tutorial was over and the cloak disappeared in a puff of smoke.

My expression was hard. I was fully prepared to survive in this game, and if I was going to do so, I had to train until I couldn't move. I turned and ran out of the plaza, the barrier now gone. I only saw small numbers of people following my lead. They must have been beta testers. I know that a game like this wouldn't have many resources, so I had to get to them first. I had to survive. I couldn't die yet; I needed to fulfill my dreams in the real world. I _had _to get stronger.

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_**So? What did you guys think of the first chapter?!**_

_**Please Review and let me know as I want to adjust things early on instead of having to fix them later after I've built up on them.**_

_**Anyways, I plan on posting chapter 2 today as well so check it out ASAP!**_

_**Until later...byeee :D**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hey guys MT here for chapter 2 just like I promised.**_

_**I don't really have much to say that I didn't say in the A/N last chapter so I'm just gonna go straight into it.**_

_**ENJOY!**_

**_UPDATED 7/15/15_**

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**Chapter 2**

_Today is December 2nd and a month has passed since the game started. We still haven't beaten the first floor, not that I have been trying very hard to clear it. I've been busy training like there was no tomorrow. I've probably traveled across the entire floor twice while training. I'm around level 15 right now, not very high, I know, but I have been training more skills than just my combat skills. I've been pretty heavily training my smithing skills because I want to be able to work on my own equipment and make better ones. I will need to save a lot of money if I plan on stocking up on supplies in this game._

_Anyways, I heard that there will be a meeting today to discuss completing this floor. I'm kind of glad because we've basically cleaned it out. I'm only even participating in the fight because I wanna be one of the first ones up there to get at the supplies. I remember seeing a picture of Aincrad and I noticed that the floors get smaller as we go up. That only means one thing. Less resources. If I'm going to survive, I need to get as much as I can. Well, either ways, might as well get to the meeting before I miss anything important._

I walked into the small coliseum and found that there weren't more than 30 players there. _Great. _Less people to take out the boss means that less people get to switch out and rest. That's going to get dangerous if we aren't careful.

I took my seat near the back, trying to keep out of prying eyes, and watched the blue haired guy start the meeting. I heard him say that his name was Diavel. He cracked a quick joke to try and lighten the mood, but the tense atmosphere returned quickly when he mentioned that the boss room had been found. I tensed at those words. Seems the boss fight will be coming much sooner than I anticipated. I heard the crowd begin to cheer at something he said, probably some motivational speech that I didn't bother listening to, and smiled a bit. A natural born leader in this hellhole? Perfect to guide everyone through.

"First off, we'll team up into parties of six," said Diavel, causing everyone to begin whispering amongst themselves. I didn't bother going over to a group. Since this game started I haven't spoken to a single player. I've always been one to socialize but whenever I do I tend to relax my guard. In this kind of situation I'd rather keep on my toes and not rely on others. That's just how I've always been whenever I needed to accomplish something. Always Mr. 'I'll do it myself'.

The voices died down when the groupings were all made. My attention was recaptured and I paid attention when Diavel began to speak again. I turned my head when I heard someone shout out to the left of me and watched a man with spiky hair leap forward and down the pews of the coliseum. He announced himself to be Kibaou. He seemed like a hothead with some steam to blow so I waited for him to finish whatever crap he was going to spout. He shouted something about the beta testers and my attention was hooked. Apparently there were some here. I glanced around but didn't see any of the faces who gave me my Guide Book. I never really got a chance to properly thank them, I mean the book was a life saver.

I heard Kibaou begin to bash the beta testers and I ground my teeth. Dumb basterd, threatening the betas to give up their stuff as if it was their fault that we all got into this mess. He proceeded to spout some nonsense about trust and I popped the sword on my belt out with my thumb, prepared to slash at him. Whether it's IRL or this life, I've always had a deep hatred for people who harass others. I wouldn't mind slashing at him a bit; I mean who cares, really? We're in a safe zone so it's not like he could die. Just a bit to scare him silly.

I was about to pounce until I heard a deep, bellowing voice come from the bottom of the pews. An enormous man got up and walked over to Kibaou, effectively scaring the hell out of him. The man was the tallest I've seen and he had a broad battleaxe across his back. His name was Agil, and from the moment he got up I knew that he was going to be someone I would like.

I couldn't quite hear what the man was saying, but I did see him pull out the Guide Book. He must have been owning Kibaou by saying that the betas did more than he was giving them credit for. I watched Kibaou and Agil take their seats and Diavel continued.

He spoke about the boss and his minions. Looks like I know who I'm taking on. There's no way I'm risking attacking the boss.

"The meeting is adjourned, people!" shouted Diavel, signaling the end of the meeting. I was the first to leave, spinning on my heel as I headed for the exit.

"Looks like I should get some last minute training done," I breathed as I walked away.

* * *

The next day we all met up at the same location before walking to the boss' room. I walked along in the back, several feet behind even the last of the group. I was listening to the conversation of the cloaked girl and the guy in the blue shirt. I heard her saying how she didn't know what a switch was and I began to snicker, covering my mouth as I did so in order to hush myself. Poor guy, he's gonna have trouble if he has to teach her and fight at the same time.

The rest of the trip was relatively uneventful, mostly just listening to the conversations of the two ahead of me. I decided to buy a black cloak to wear. I wanted to keep the attention away from me so I'd rather remain darker and in the shadows. Diavel complained a bit when I told him I was going solo but he said he would just treat me like another party. Oh well, too late to try and squeeze me in one now.

We hit a tower and climbed up it and, because of the map Diavel got from the scouting party, we made it there relatively quickly. Now we all stopped in front of the giant door to the boss' room and I opened up my menu to perform any last minute preparations.

"Okay, Listen up everyone! Let's win!" shouted Diavel, catching everyone's attention. He pushed the door open and part of the way into the room it glowed a rainbow color. Illfang and his sentinels spawned in the middle of the room and both our side and theirs ran towards each other, meeting in the middle. I took my time and waited for an opportune time to fight, mostly ignoring Diavel's orders. Being solo keeps me from getting in people's way so I took on a sentinel by myself, keeping it busy. I slashed and hacked away at it, still only sparsely using Sword Skills. Because of that, it seemed to have an effect on the sentinel. It almost seemed like he was unsure of what to do, probably because their programming is made to counter and dodge Sword Skills.

I killed two sentinels when I heard a roar come from behind me. I saw Illfang throw his sword and pull out a long blade. I think I might have been the only one to hear that guy in the blue shirt yell out that that sword wasn't the one in the Guide Book. I felt my stomach drop as I watched Diavel run at the boss, unaware of the difference.

I watched Diavel take a couple of hard hits and he was down for the count. I ran over to help the others. I may want to play solo, but there's no way I was going to sit by and watch people get killed. I fought back against Illfang, helping the others knock him back. And then, the unimaginable happened, I watched Diavel…die.

All you could see was his body shatter into a hundred of blue and green pixels, and watched as the guy with the blue shirt hover over where he had laid. I roared in anger and blocked Illfang once more and let the two-party group attack him again. I slid into the background again, trying to calm myself down.

I can't let myself off the leash, not yet at least.

In order to distract myself I watched the two fight the boss and then he was knocked down again. I popped my sword out of my sheath again to help but was beaten to it when Agil and some others went to fight.

Within a moment I watched the girl, whose name I now knew to be Asuna's, fight with the blue haired guy and they took out the boss.

He disappeared in an explosion of pixels and a giant 'Congratulations!' appeared in the sky. The room grew dark again and I click my sword into its sheath and sighed in relief. I really wasn't in the mood to deal with anything for the rest of the day. Though it seemed my day was yet to end.

Cheers had erupted after the fight was over, people cheering for the guy in the blue shirt. I could see him sheepishly rejecting it, but all the cheers went silent when Kibaou shouted.

"Stop clapping!" I heard him shout, silencing the crowd. "Why'd you do it, huh? Why did you let Diavel die?"

The guy had a confused expression and Diavel continued, blaming him for Diavel's death. Another person spoke up and accused him of being a beta tester. Everyone began to look around suspiciously, thinking there was another beta tester among them. I heard the guy begin to laugh, crazily. I knew that laugh. It was the laugh of someone about to take the fall. He was doing what he needed to make everyone forget about the betas. His face and words made it seem like he was a villain, but I could see the look in his eyes. He was in pain from having to do this.

Our eyes met for a moment and I knew he knew what I was thinking. He glanced down, hiding his eyes in his hair.

"A beater, huh? I like it," said the man, equipping his black cloak which was extremely cool, by the way. I watched as he walked away, a man playing the villain. Asuna ran after him and I was listening closely now. She said 'Kirito'. Kirito? Was that his name? That's one that I will remember for a long time. Kirito, the man who took the fall for a thousand beta testers in order to protect them.

I watched as that man walked through the large black doors, leading to the next floor, and I was one of the first to walk towards that door.

Others followed me and soon the whole group had snapped out of their trance and we all walked, slowly speeding to a run, as we made our way out of the room and walked out into the great expanse of floor 2. There were rolling fields and grassy meadows in front of me, ruined pillars right in front of me. As we walked down the path, I could see a town in some more mountainous terrain. When we approached the gate, a sign popped up above me saying 'Welcome to the city of Urbus'. It wasn't very different from the Town of Beginnings aside from being smaller. Despite that I scoured the streets for anything new. Sadly, I found almost nothing, except a few quests, which by the way shouldn't even be called quests from how easy they were. I did, however, find a small shop, hidden away in the deep maze of back streets. The sign said 'Lair of the Demon'. A shiver ran down my spine as I read those words, which were written in a creepy font.

Despite every cell in my body screaming 'no' I entered the shop anyways; slowly opening the door and stepping in. The room was darker than I'd expected and, when I looked to the back, I could see a ridiculously old man standing behind the counter, hunched over and trembling a bit. A person who looked that old IRL probably wouldn't be able to move let alone stand.

I looked around the room as I approached the counter, seeing the strange and disturbing objects around the room. Eye balls in jars, severed fingers and toes, goblin and troll heads, and magical artifacts all around the room.

When I got to the counter I heard the old man's raspy breathing and watched him open his mouth to begin speaking.

"Hello…young one…" said the man in an old and croaky voice. I don't know why, but I kinda expected dust to puff out of his mouth when he spoke.

I waited for a pop-up menu to appear so that I could try and trade with the geezer but nothing came up so I attempted asking him.

"May I see your wares?" I asked in a relatively respectful voice. The man's old lips curled into an uncomfortable smile and he cackled, lightly.

"I have no wares, child. Instead, I have knowledge," said the geezer in his raspy voice. He slowly hunched down below the counter and pulled up a small, black book and placed it on the countertop before sliding it towards me. "This book will teach you how to make…the most powerful magical sword."

His words surprised me and I immediately picked up the book and attempted to open it. I noticed a lock on it but attempted to open it anyways. A pop-up flashed in my face, scaring me half to death, and it said 'Slash Weapon Forging level MAXIMUM required'. I gaped. A forging level of _maximum?! _I have to max out my smithing level in slash weapon forging in order to open the book!? How the hell am I supposed to do that?! I've never maxed out a smithing level in any MMO I've played! I mean, I get that this is the most powerful magical sword but that's just pushing the limits.

"Take this book…and when the time is right…use it…" said the geezer, seriously. I looked up at him and he grinned at me again. "Now go! The hour is late."

I heeded his message, feeling the mental fatigue from today. I walked out of the shop and looked at the book once more, sighing in defeat. I'm going to have to work on smithing harder than I originally anticipated. I shoved the book into my inventory and turned around once more to look at the shop. When I turned around, though, the door was gone. My eyes widened in shock and I looked up. Sign was gone too. I looked around to make sure I was where I was supposed to be and knew I was so where was the shop?! I looked in my inventory again and found the book there. I knew it wasn't a dream, but still, the shop was gone!

Ugh I really didn't feel like dealing with that that day. I wandered away from my location, assuming it was just haunted or something, and found my way to an inn. I crashed on the bed and was out before I even got out of my armor. If there's one thing I love about this game, it's that the beds are heavenly.

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_**So? What did you guys think?**_

_**I plan on (or at least will try very hard) to go through every single floor in Aincrad. I might not go a whole chapter per floor, though, and some parts of the story won't particularly be about ascending the floors.**_

_**Anyways, until next time, please review...byeee :D**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hey guys MT here!**_

_**I haven't got much feedback on this story so far, well other than a few ideas from a now regular on my stories (Glad you were interested in this story CuriousReader)**_

_**Also, do you guys feel this story is a bit dark? If you don't be prepared for this chapter. Won't spoil anymore than that.**_

_**Anyways, ENJOY!**_

**_UPDATED 7/15/15_**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**_The next day…_**

I had woken up this morning with an annoying crick in my neck and I swear I was sore from sleeping in my armor all night. I had decided that I would explore the floor and found it to be relatively boring, though I did end up finding a small town called Marome quite far from Urbus.

The shops there SUCK but I've been hoping to find something decent about this town. There's not a lot here and most of the players came and went when they saw how bad the wares were. I'm practically alone here, save a player or two.

As I walked, I found a small church on the edge of the town, farthest from the main entrance. I entered the church and found it to be quite old inside and looked at how few pews there were inside. The church couldn't seat more than thirty or forty people. As I walked, I noticed a priest standing behind a lectern in the back of the church, looking over what I assumed was a bible.

"Uh?" I said when I was close enough to him. The priest looked up from the bible and stared at me. He smiled and took off his reading glasses, setting them atop the bible.

"Welcome, welcome, my dear friend. Have you come to hear the praises of our Lord?" asked the priest. A menu popped up in front of my and gave me two options. I could either say 'Yes' or ask if there were any tasks I was needed for. Since I wasn't in the mood to hear a lecture, I just clicked on the second option.

The priest frowned and looked away from me, sighing.

"Yes, yes I believe you can help me. If it's you then maybe…" said the priest, cryptically. He looked up at me before continuing. "Every night, in this town, something attacks the villagers. They aren't quite sure what it is but I know. Below this church was a chamber which was supposed to hold a monster. One day, when I went down to check it, it was open. I discovered that the monster that had been locked up under this church for nearly a century was a vampire. I am neither strong enough nor fast enough to catch and defeat it, but maybe you can. Please, help us, warrior."

A window popped up and it asked 'Would you like to start the quest: Vampire Hunter?'. I grinned, happy that I had found an interesting quest. I've seen quests like this in other games, and I usually have to use something to kill it like garlic or crosses.

I pressed the blue button, signifying that I accepted the quest, and the priest's face was filled with hope. He took my hand and shook it up and down, shouting out 'Thank you's with enthusiasm.

"Thank you, young one! Now, in order to defeat the vampire, you will need a special weapon," said the priest before turning around. I watched him walk to a door at the back of the church and I grimaced. GREAT! This was going to be one of those quests where I have to kill the enemy with a special weapon. The weapons usually SUCK so this was going to be annoying.

The priest came back holding what I could only assume was a sword wrapped in ancient, white rags. He stopped in front of me and unraveled the sword, allowing me to see it glitter underneath the quickly setting sun. I had learned about a skill from the guidebook called 'Equipment Appraisal' which would allow me to inspect weapons I acquired. I decided to train it up and I'm glad I did because now I could inspect this sword he was going to give me. I tapped the sword with my finger and a window popped up listing the stats of the sword. The sword's name was 'Holy Mors Lamia' and it had decent stats, better than I had originally thought, but not as good as the Black Iron Long Sword that I had acquired in the Town of Beginnings.

"This sword is made of silver and had been bathed for a decade in a garlic and holy water solution. It will serve you well in killing the vampire who assaults my village," said the priest as he handed me the sword. When I took the sword from him, a window popped up saying that I received the Quest Item 'Holy Mors Lamia' and I pressed the blue button which put it into my inventory, freeing up my hands. "You have until 10 o'clock to prepare, young one. Be ready to fight the demonic monster."

I nodded and left the church, on my way to the only inn in town and set up camp there.

* * *

I bided my time in a room in the inn. It was currently 7:30 so I had two and a half more hours until the fight. When I had entered the inn, I had noticed that there were 5 players planning to stay the night and they had probably been training in the mountains nearby and decided to rest here. It's the only town for awhile so I'm not surprised, though I hope they're smart enough to stay out of my fight with the vampire.

I went through my inventory. Luckily, the priest left the door to the underground prison unlocked and I went down there to find some garlic. I was planning on eating it a few minutes before my fight. Apparently it gives you an effect which makes you resilient to vampires. Pretty useful. I also made sure to have a teleport crystal ready. I didn't have any use for it prior, but I spent a hell of a lot of money on it for emergencies. I wasn't taking any chances in this game. I plan on surviving this.

Aside from the crystal, I made sure that potions were readily available. When 9:30 rolled around I swapped out my sword for the quest sword and swung it around a bit to get a feel for it. It was heavier than I was used to with my other sword and slightly wider. I sheathed my sword and walked out of my room after taking a few deep breaths to keep calm.

As I stepped outside, I could feel the cool breeze of the night air. I glanced upward and could see the countless stars and shining moon which all gleamed in the darkness. It was so beautiful but, sadly, I wouldn't be able to enjoy it.

I checked the time again. It was 9:55pm. I sat on a barrel against one of the walls outside the inn which faced the fountain in the center of town. I could feel the hairs on my arms rise in anticipation and I couldn't stop tapping my foot as I waited, impatiently. I watched as the minutes ticked away. 9:56…9:57…9:58…9:59…

I pulled out the blade and moved into a battle stance. 10:00…

I waited for a moment, listening in the silence as I waited for some sound that would tell me he was here. I heard a ding and looked up, seeing a sign that said Anti-Criminal Code Disabled.

Crap! Crap crap crap! If the safe zone is disabled and someone comes out they might be killed! I thought it would be okay since I thought I'd be the only one who could die from its attacks but now this is different. If I don't kill this thing it will kill all the players it finds and they won't be able to defeat it because I have the only sword to do so.

I was suddenly pulled from my panicked thoughts when I heard a scream. I saw a large figure coming out the window of one of the NPC's homes and it was carrying a woman. The figure walked out of the shadows into the moonlight and I flinched.

It was the vampire, that much was clear. He was _hideous. _He had large pointed ears and enormous eyes which were yellowish save for the crimson red of its corneas. Its reddish-brown hair was slicked back behind its head and it had grayish skin which looked unhealthy. It was very tall, maybe 9 or 10 feet, and had arms that drooped past the middle of its thigh. Its legs were probably 3 or 4 feet in length just on their own. His feet and hands were also disgusting, both large and filled with protruding veins. The nails were an unhealthy yellow and were cracked, split, and bending off in different directions. It wore only a ragged loincloth around its waist.

The being was carrying the NPC, who was flailing about in fear, and brought her to his mouth. He rolled his pale lips back, revealing his enormous canines, and he bit into her back, presumably drinking her blood.

The woman's flails became weaker with each passing second and she soon fell limp before disappearing in a blast of blue and green pixels. I watched in horror as the vampire licked off a red liquid from his lips and looked around for his next meal. He noticed me and, slowly, made his way over. I tensed waited for an opening to attack.

When the monster was close enough, a text box appeared above his head and it read Alazar the Undead Vampire. After the box disappeared, the vampire screeched in the most spine-tingling, gut wrenching scream before running at me.

I panicked and leapt out of its way, causing it to crash into the wall of the inn, making the Immortal Object hexagon appear. It turned to try and follow me, and I lead it near the fountain. There I performed the same trick, this time making it trip and fall into the fountain. While the creature flailed in confusion for a moment, I slashed at its back and the creature roared out in pain. When I glanced at its health bar to see how much damage I did, I was horrified.

This monster had FIVE health bars! Granted that one slash with this sword did a quarter damage to one of the bars but _seriously? Five health bars? _If anyone who didn't have this sword battled it, I would dare say it would take a small army to kill it. The thing had more bars than the first floor boss.

I'm so glad I have this sword, though. I guess because it's a vampire slaying sword, it does massive damage against him. I wonder how much damage he would do to me while I have this sword and the garlic's effects. Actually…scratch that. I don't want to die to find out.

I hopped away from the vampire and it launched itself out of the fountain before landing a few feet away. It shook off the water and growled at me before running at me again. This time I ran towards it and, at the last moment, slid underneath it and sliced at its legs. The creature roared out in pain again and the first bar dropped to just below half. The vampire turned and ran at me again, this time moving closer to the ground.

Damn! Must be learning. Guess I shouldn't underestimate its AI.

I ran away from it and ran towards some trellis in hopes to get higher ground. I managed to get there fast enough and gripped the sword handle in my teeth as I climbed up the trellis. I was at a decent height when the vampire found me and I cussed because I still wasn't out of its reach. I pulled the sword out of my mouth, prepared to defend, as I climbed ever higher. I sliced at the monster's arms as it tried to grab me but it still managed to get a grip on my ankle. This time I stabbed into its wrist, causing it to screech in pain. I twisted the sword and pushed deeper until the blade was out the other side then I swiped outward, slicing its hand off.

The creature screeched again and the hand burst into pixels. The monster clasped its wrist and stared at it with shocked eyes. I made my way up to the roof and looked down at it. Apparently that hit was enough to erase its first bar and bring down a quarter of the second bar. I noticed the monster was glaring up at me and I shivered at having to look into those crimson eyes.

I watched as it leapt up onto the trellis, covering half the distance I climbed in only a split second, and it climbed up the rest of the way with only one hand. I mouthed 'shit' and decided that I might as well cause some damage while it struggled. I leapt off the roof and aimed my sword downward, hoping to pierce it in the head. I had no such luck as it moved its body over to try and avoid me. I pierced into the shoulder of its good arm and it screeched out again as I dug the sword into its body.

The health in its health bar quickly dropped, eliminating the second health bar. I grinned, happy I was doing so well, until I felt the sensation of falling. I gasped when I realized that the vampire had let go of the trellis and we were both falling.

I yanked the sword out of it and leapt off its back, hoping to make a safe landing and failing, eliminating some of my health. I leapt up to my feet, relieved that I took less damage than I thought I would. I glanced at the vampire again, seeing that it was beginning to get up. Apparently a fall from over a story did some damage to him. He now only had two and a half bars of health left. Meanwhile, I was getting tired from this fight. I've been running around, slashing, stabbing, and thinking of ways to trick this big lug.

As I prepared another plan, I heard voices, and my stomach crashed. I saw two players walking out of the inn, which, yes, was still nearby. I watched as they walked out, wondering what all the noise had been about. They saw the vampire and I and ran over to us.

"Woahhhh! What the hell is that?" shouted one of them at me.

"It's a vampire and it's strong! Don't attack it or you might get killed!" I shouted in an attempt to keep them out of the fight. The other guy blew a raspberry and laughed.

"Please, man! We're in a safe zone! Hey, Jim let's take this guy out. If we do we might get some awesome prize," said the other one. I saw them both nod and grin at each other before pulling out their swords. The vampire looked over at the two players who were preparing to attack him. His eyes glowed a bright red and he was gone in a moment. The players froze, whether it was in fear or confusion I have no idea.

In the next moment I saw the vampire reappear. I think it was because I was the one who was performing the quest so he wasn't at full strength when fighting me, but I saw just how powerful he was. The monster took his good hand, extended his nails into claws, and sliced into the throat of the player all in only a few seconds. The players gasped, both tearing up in fear. The injured player reached out for his friend, hoping to be helped but, before his friend could react, the vampire ripped his head off. His health immediately dissipated, as a beheading was an instant KO, and his body, head and all, burst into pixels.

The friend began to cry, violently, muttering out 'It can't be' and 'Jim' all while backing away from the vampire. The monster was quick to turn to the other player and, before the player could run away screaming, he chopped his legs in one swift motion. I winced at the sight and could do nothing as I heard the man's screams of fear, as I myself was frozen in complete and utter horror. The vampire picked up the player, whose health was now at half from losing almost half his body, and ripped him in half at the mid-section, eliminating the rest of his health. I watched the player burst into pixels and the vampire turned its attention to me again.

I was frozen in fear but its eyes were no longer glowing, signifying the end of its little power-up. I forced myself to move when it came at me, full sprint, and I ran over to the alleyway next to the inn. The creature followed me in but struggled to keep up because of how narrow it was. I ran all the way to the other end and went around the corner before pressing myself up against the wall.

I then noticed my breathing. I wasn't panting, oh no, such a short distance would never incite me to pant. No, I was hyperventilating. I was feeling a fear that only a handful of people could actually feel and have the high possibility of survival.

I tried to calm myself down as I waited for the monster to come out from the alleyway and began to hear faint stomps. As the stomps grew louder, I clutched the sword to my chest, trying to force my breath to remain steady.

Finally, I could almost feel the vampire at the end of the alleyway and, as it came out, I pierced right into its chest. The creature screeched in pain and flinched before reaching for me. I removed my sword and stabbed it again, eliciting the same response. I continued my onslaught, a frenzy of pierces going into its body. Before I realized it, I had pushed the vampire over so that I was standing over it while it laid on the ground. I also failed to notice something else. I was smiling…smiling while shouting 'die' over and over again. This felt so wrong, but it seems that my darker side managed to get loose in my fear.

Ever since I was little, I noticed that I had a very violent and despicable side. I spent much time trying to suppress that side and succeeded for many years, only having it poke its head out a couple times. I was afraid of this side of me. It wasn't right. It was too violent, too…evil.

As the creature slowly stopped flailing at my attacks, I slowly reigned myself in, calming myself and regaining my proper mind. I glanced up and noticed that the last health bar was about to hit 0. An eighth of the bar, a sixteenth, a thirty-second…zero.

The vampire's movements ceased and it suddenly burst into pixels. The pixels dissipated and I looked up to see a large 'Congratulations' above me. I continued to remain tense, wondering if it was really over until a rewards window popped up, startling me. I got quite a bit of experience for killing that thing and a decent amount of col. I also received items and when I looked at them I was surprised that I received a rare item.

The item was called the 'Cloak of Alucard'. I decided to leave it for now when I noticed the priest was walking towards me.

"Young one! Young one! Have you defeated the vampire?" asked the priest, already knowing the answer. "Ah you have!"

The priest smiled, brightly, and clapped his hands together in happiness.

"You have done well, adventurer, thank you for your assistance! You have saved this small town from harm! Also, may I please retrieve the holy sword? I must return it to its sacred place in the church," said the priest. I pulled the sword off of me and handed it to him, a pop up in the corner saying that the item was removed from my inventory. "Now, adventurer, I do not have any items to give you, however I do have a book that belonged to the blacksmith who lived in this town until he died of old age some years ago. It contains knowledge on forging weapons."

I took the book from him and opened it, the book then dissipating in golden sparkles before a pop-up appeared saying that I gained experience in slash weapon forging. The priest continued to smile and then bowed before taking his leave.

I was now alone again. And because I was alone, the events that passed only tens of minutes ago, flashed in my mind.

I almost died. I almost died and other people died because I didn't warn them. They died because I activated a dangerous quest.

Another pop-up appeared in front of me and said Anti-Criminal Code Reactivated. I began to laugh, sadly, from the sheer irony. Oh what a time for it to resume. When people died. I sighed and began to walk to the inn.

"Never again…" I whispered to myself. "I will never let anyone die in front of me again…"

Until that moment, I never bothered watching out for others. I wanted to focus on getting through the game. Getting through this world to get back to the old one. But now…now I cannot ignore this. I cannot allow myself to be the reason of others deaths. I have to isolate myself. I have to be alone.

* * *

_**So? What did you guys think?**_

_**Kinda dark...I was watching the Sachi episode from SAO while writing that part...sorry...**_

_**Anyways, Review and let me know what you think, guys.**_

_**Also, do you guys like how long these chapters are? Should I make them longer? Shorter?**_

_**I leave it up to you.**_

_**Anyways, until next time...byeee :D**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Hey guys, MT here!**_

_**I'm happy that this story is slowly increasing in popularity, but I need more feedback than I'm getting. I really don't want someone to point something out and then I have to go back and change several chapters -_-**_

_**Well anyways, I tried to make this chapter a bit light-hearted as I felt that the cold chapters were starting to pile up.**_

_**ENJOY!**_

**_UPDATED 7/15/15_**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

It has been two weeks since that god awful quest. I'm currently wandering through the forest on the third floor.

Apparently, the teams cleared the boss on the 2nd floor by themselves 5 days ago. Now what was I doing, you might ask? I was training. I spent every day after that quest until 3 days ago training in the mountains. I'm currently level 25 and have worked day and night as if my life depended on it. Granted, though, I didn't just work my combat stats. I also spent a lot of time mining in the ore rich mountains and am saving it up until I find a blacksmith up on floor 4. There were too many people in Urbus on floor 2, so I wasn't really in the mood to go there.

Three days ago, when I was on my way towards Urbus, I passed some players who said that floor 3 had been unlocked so I came to check it out. This floor is a great training spot but it's like a freaking playground for people who like to get lost.

Floor 3 is basically laid out like this: In the center of the floor is the teleport gate plaza and a few shops and inns around that, and then there is almost infinite forest in every direction away from that small, open circle. On top of that, for 15 hours of each day, the mist in so thick you couldn't see your hand 6 inches in front of you. Well, I guess that's why they call it the Forest of Wavering Mist.

What I've basically been doing is going around hunting mobs. It took me a whole day to get out to the outer edges of the floor, the forest being more open around there, allowing things to spawn.

I've also been trying to be careful. I've been hearing rumors about some players who are PKing. What the hell are they doing? They know that people actually die if you kill them in this game, right? Doing those things while knowing that…they aren't any better than murderers IRL.

"Wah!" I shouted when a wolf lunged itself at me, grazing my chest. I really should be paying attention. Those PKers won't have to worry about killing me if I end up killing myself. "Now come on, doggy. You wanna play? Let's go."

I mocked the wolf and it merely growled in response as I beckoned it towards me. When it lunged at me, I suddenly heard a growling coming from behind me and I leapt to the side, avoiding the wolf in front of me. I watched a bear running out of the forest crash into the wolf that was still in mid-air. I laughed when the wolf's snout flew into the bear's open mouth. It looked like a retarded kiss, almost.

The two separated themselves and I moved into a battle stance. Wolves, I can handle. Bears, a bit tough. Both at the same time? Time to whip out the tactics.

The pair of animals charged me and I stood there, waiting for my moment. When they were close enough, I extended my arm and slashed at the two with my sword, slicing into both of their faces. I've been using Sword Skills less and less as I've progressed through the floors. It seems to be better, the mobs AI unable to understand it. It seems that the AI of the mobs is made to tackle attacks made using Sword Skills but they struggle when it's not one. I think it would be best if I didn't use them, though I wasn't really planning on.

I finished off the bear and wolf relatively easy after that initial slash. I had aimed it well enough that I blinded the bear and partially blinded the wolf, making them easy kills with just a few stabs here and there. After I collected their pelts and meat, I moved on to a different spot in hopes of finding something interesting, and it seems I did.

I heard some growls that sounded like wolves and I became excited because it sounded like a lot. Wolf pelts are selling good right now because the crafters are trying to go on a training spree. I began to walk over to where I heard them, which was behind a large pile of boulders, but began running when I heard a high pitched shriek.

I ran around the pile, partially climbing over it because it was taking too long to run around, and found a scene I was hoping I wouldn't have to see. A girl, maybe my age, more or less, was being attacked by a pack of maybe 6 or 7 wolves at the same time. I noticed that she was clutching her arm, which had glowing red marks, meaning she had been bitten by one there. I noticed that the wolves were cornering her against another pile of boulders behind her. I wasn't going to just sit back and watch someone die in front of me. Never again.

I gritted my teeth as I leapt down from the boulders, neither the girl nor the wolves noticing me, and ran towards them, sword poised and ready. As I got closer, they continued to ignore me, the reason why? A simple one. Remember that cloak I got after beating the vampire? Apparently the cloak's ability is that it cuts my presence in half making it much harder for mobs to notice me and I need to be half the normal distance to a player before they can see my cursor or health bars. Pretty handy, huh?

My speed increased, exponentially as I approached the group and, just as the wolves in the back began to notice me, I was on them. I hacked and slashed at the wolves, beheading one and cutting the legs of another. I was causing them massive damage and the others quickly noticed me and began to gang up on me. I was swiftly gliding between their attacks, slashing and hacking as I did so. I took out two of the wolves before one gripped my left arm with its teeth, digging into me and causing a decent amount of damage. I hissed in pain and took the hilt of my sword and began smashing it into its face, eventually causing it to let go. I swiped at the wolves in front of me, hitting a couple and causing the others to step back, giving me a chance to attack the ones behind me. I performed a similar action to the ones in the rear and turned back around while slashing downward, hitting one of the wolves who got too close and beheading it. I slashed at the wolves and killed them one after another, not daring to allow myself to be lost in anger at the constant bites of the wolves.

By the time I had finished them all off, I had lost a third of my health and was panting, furiously. That was EXHAUSTING! Despite that, I turned to the girl who had been previously attacked and noticed that she had a worried expression on her face.

"You…*pant*…alright?" I asked, still trying to catch my breath. The girl took a step towards me, hesitantly, and I sheathed my sword, letting her know she could approach me.

"I-I'm fine, but…are you alright? You got hurt trying to save me," said the girl in a sing-song voice. It was a beautiful voice, one I hadn't heard IRL, only ever in things like anime. "O-Oh I know! Here take this."

The girl pulled out a small bottle from her belt which had a small compartment box. It was a health potion. I put my hand out, about to decline it, not really want to take anything from the girl but she took my hand and turned it over before placing it in my hand.

"Drink it! I don't want anything bad happening to you because you weren't at full health!" shouted the girl, her sing-song voice unfaltering. I smiled, only a small one though, and chugged down the potion. I could feel it already accelerating the regeneration of my HP and I heard the bottle pop into pixels after being used up.

"U-Um, why were you out here, alone, if you weren't prepared to fight a lot of enemies?" I asked, curious as to why a fragile looking girl was doing out this far from the safe zone.

"W-Well I was, but I thought two or three at the most but six or seven is way too much for me to handle," said the girl, blushing a bit in embarrassment. "U-Umm, as thanks for saving me, would you like to have lunch? There shouldn't be any monsters spawning for awhile so we should be okay and I made extra food before coming out here."

W-W-What? She's asking me to eat with her? L-Like a date? Dammnit, I will not get flustered over this!

I've always gotten flustered when I'm alone with girls and it SUCKS. It's the reason I've had trouble with relationships and I'm not gonna let it bother me in this game where I have to be alert and on guard. _No distractions._

"S-Sure, if you don't mind," I said, eliciting an excited smile from the girl. She beckoned me over to the pile of boulders and we sat down, leaning against them, and she opened up her inventory. Within a few seconds she had a picnic basket on her lap and she began to rummage through it. I hadn't noticed it until now but she was beautiful.

The girl had long silver hair drooped down to the middle of her back and her bangs were short, only making it to the middle of her forehead. She had long legs which were covered by a pair of thin, metal plate legs that were a dull gray. She also wore a chainmail body piece which covered her torso. They were covering her…ahem, ample bosom. Her slender arms poked out of the sleeves and I could see her milky skin peeking out. On her hands, she wore fingerless gloves which allowed her long, thin fingers to remain free. Her eyes were a beautiful crystal blue and they glittered in the sunlight as she continued to rummage through the basket.

I was unable to continue my inspection, though, as I could feel my face was hot from embarrassment. She was way too beautiful to be a fighter but she looked like she was training to be a tank. How could such a fragile looking girl be training for that?

"Here you go," said the girl in her sing-song voice, pulling me from my thoughts. She was holding a sandwich towards me and was smiling at me.

(I couldn't think of another hand-based meal aside from a sandwich that you could eat easily)

I took it from her, nodding.

"Thank you, uhhh…?" I said, realizing neither of us had introduced the other.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Aiko, I'm training to become a tank in this game, but I don't have enough money for thicker armor yet," said the girl whose name I now know to be Aiko. I realized that she had been looking at me and I knew that she was waiting for me to introduce myself.

"Ah! I'm Shikai. I'm not training towards a specific thing in particular, though," I said, simply.

"It's very nice to meet you, Shikai. Thanks again for saving me," said Aiko, sweetly, causing me to blush at her adorable expression.

"Uh…and thanks for the food, Aiko," I said, smiling, awkwardly. I took the sandwich and took a large bite out of it. "Mmm, this is good!"

"R-Really? I've never been very good at cooking, only ever able to make simple stuff like sandwiches or simple bentos," said Aiko, blushing in embarrassment.

"It's great. I've never been able to cook so I'm always impressed when someone my age can cook well. Plus, this is the best thing I've had all game! I've only been eating things like bread."

"O-Oh…well that's good that you got to have something different," said Aiko, blushing before taking a bite out of her own sandwich. We continued to eat in silence, glancing at each other randomly.

"So…uhh…how come you're traveling alone?" I asked, finishing up the last bite of my sandwich after saying it.

"O-Oh…umm…well, the truth is that I'm in this game with my brother, Sora. We were training on the first floor and we split up and agreed to meet up again on floor four. I'm training so that I can help him when we meet up again but I've been so focused on training I didn't bother trying to make friends or team up with anyone," said Aiko before finishing up her sandwich.

"So you've been alone ever since you and your brother split up?" I asked, feeling kind of sad for this girl. Being alone isn't a happy thing, I should know. She nodded and I saw her expression grow a bit somber, but I reached out and put my hand on her head, causing her to look up at me. "You're the first person I've talked to like this in this world, would you honor me by making me your first friend?"

She stared at me, wide-eyed and shocked by what I had said. It took her a moment, but she responded.

"A-Are you really okay with me being _your _first friend?" asked Aiko, her sing-song voice cracking a bit. I nodded while smiling brightly and her eyes became glassy. "O-Okay."

She smiled, brightly, at me and I sent her a friend request which she accepted, immediately. We shared a quiet moment, smiling at each other, until we heard a familiar growl.

"Looks like break time's over," I said as I got up.

"Seems so," Aiko said, sighing a bit. I turned in front of her and stretched out my arm to her, which she accepted with a smile. I pulled her up, quickly, before we both turned to prepare to fight our enemies as a team.

That was the first time I had worked together with anyone and the first friend I had made in this forsaken game.

* * *

_**So? What did you guys think?**_

_**I know that my personality changed drastically when I was talking to Aiko, but that's how I am with girls. It SUCKS but what can you do.**_

_**Review and let me know what you think about her and ideas you might have about her brother. I haven't thought about how I'm going to introduce him so I'm up for some suggestions!**_

_**Anyways, until next time...byeee :D**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Hey guys, MT here!**_

**_I'm REALLY sorry for being so late. We celebrated my mom's birthday Friday and Saturday and I didn't get a chance to work._**

**_Despite that, I hope you like this new chapter._**

**_I know it's kinda short, but that's because there isn't a whole lot I planned out for this chapter. The next chapter may be a bit plain and short as well because the next floor won't be super interesting, the chapter afterward, though, will be interesting, I promise._**

**_Also, I don't know if it was noticeable, but I will be adding the around things like in the LNs. It will mostly be around item names, city names, special monster names, and notifications like pop-up windows._**

**_Anyways, ENJOY!_**

**_UPDATED 7/15/15_**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"Aiko! Hurry up! If you keep lollygagging I'll leave you behind!" I shouted, teasingly, as I made my way over a large boulder. Aiko and I spent all of the other day working together fighting mobs and then yesterday we began the trek back to spawn. We received the notification that the 4th floor was unlocked so we're going there. I wanted to get to a blacksmith to use their furnaces and anvils before it gets too crowded and she was going to meet with her brother who she said would be one of the first ones to be in the plaza.

"I'm going, I'm going! It's not easy to walk through this terrain with all this armor on," complained Aiko, causing me to snicker. For once in this accursed game, I'm actually my normal, teasing self. I've spent most of the last half of yesterday teasing her about her speed and that one time she dropped her sandwich because a wolf came by and scared her, causing her to loosen her grip.

Once she had reached me, I turned and we continued onward for a few more minutes until I pointed out signs of a structure and, when we broke out of the forest, we realized it was one of the inns in the safe zone.

"Finally!" I shouted, relieved that we were finally back at the plaza.

"I know, right? No more annoying terrain," said Aiko, happily. I snickered at her reason and we both walked around the inn to find the teleport plaza being used by players moving on to the fourth floor. We ran over and got in line, getting onto the plaza and teleporting to the floor.

When the blue light faded, we were now in the teleport plaza of the fourth floor. A large pop-up appeared and said Welcome to Lobria.

"We're finally here," I breathed and then glanced at Aiko and she was glancing back and forth, probably looking for her brother. "Do you need-"

"Sora!" shouted Aiko, suddenly, cutting me off. She waved to a man in the distance and I watched as the two ran over to each other. I slowly followed and stopped a few feet away, giving them space.

"Sora, I'm so happy to see you safe!" said Aiko, happily. Sora smiled back at her and he reached out to caress her cheek.

"As am I, little sister. I'm glad you've made it through the last few floors safely," said Sora, calmly, with a smile plastered on his face. I don't know what it was about him that made me uncomfortable. Meh, it's probably me just being paranoid. "By the way, who is this man behind you?"

"Oh! This is Shikai. I met him on the third floor when he saved me from a pack of wolves. There were too many for me to handle and I couldn't out run them, but he saved me from them by catching them off guard," explained Aiko, gesturing to me.

"Ah, thank you for that. The name is Sora," said Sora, stretching out a hand to me. I took said hand and gave it a firm shake.

"I'm Shikai, and it was nothing. I couldn't leave her alone if she was in trouble," I said, humbly. When I said that, I felt his grip increase to an uncomfortable level and I cocked a brow in confusion but Aiko suddenly broke in.

"A-Anyways! Sora, shouldn't we go? If we wait too long, we may miss out on collecting supplies before everyone gets here," said Aiko, distracting her brother.

"She's right, I should probably go too so I don't miss out," I said, removing my hand from Sora's and turning to leave. "Bye, Aiko. Message me if you ever wanna talk."

I smiled and waved at her and she returned it, saying 'of course' before I walked away. As I walked I heard what sounded like someone getting smacked and a yelp in pain but when I turned around, the two I was talking to only a minute ago were gone. I thought about it for a moment, worried, but then I turned and continued walking. It couldn't have been what I thought had happened.

* * *

I made my way around the town and found it to be quite nice, architectural wise at least. Near the center of town there was a large, medieval cathedral which looked amazing with its beige walls and pillars and the curved, dark-orange tiles that covered the roof. Many of the buildings were similarly designed, though obviously much smaller. There was always the odd one out, though, that had darker walls and the same tiles or vice versa.

The streets were solid brick, said bricks being a bright gray, if that's even possible, and in the courtyard, across from the cathedral, was a large fountain with figures that looked like Poseidon holding his triton and all kinds of sea creatures circling him.

I managed to keep myself from drooling over the obviously historical based town and looked for a blacksmith shop that I would be able to use. I finally found one on one of the main streets and made my way in. There wasn't any NPC running this shop so that meant it was player owned.

"Hello? Anybody here?" I shouted into the small shop that came before the furnace and anvil room. I waited a few moments, not receiving any answer, and was about to leave to look for another blacksmith before I heard the large, metal door at the back of the shop creak open.

"Sorry 'bout that. I was workin' in the back," said a large, burly man as he walked into the shop and closed the door. My eyes widened when I recognized the man and I pointed at him.

"Hey! Aren't you that guy who owned Kibaou on the first floor?" I said, suddenly, causing him to stare at me.

"Oh, yeah! I remember you. You were Mr. Solo during the boss fight down there. Nice to see you again, the name's Agil," said Agil as he stretched out his hand. I took his hand and gripped it firmly.

"The name's Shikai! Glad to see you're doing well, man. You decided to become a blacksmith?" I asked, curiously.

"Yeah, I've always been pretty good at running a shop. Plus it helps that I've been running a bar IRL for awhile," said Agil, quelling some of my curiosity. "Anyways, what can I do for yuh?"

"Oh, mind if I use your furnace and anvil? I've been collecting quite a bit of ore and I wanted to smelt it and turn it into something," I explained. Agil cocked a brow at me as if saying 'why should I?' and I attempted to sweeten the deal. "And _of course _I would happily sell you a quarter of my ingots at a third the normal selling price."

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about, man," said Agil, happily, while smacking me in the back. I jumped a bit at the man's strength and laughed, nervously. "Alright, lemme show you to the furnace room. I just got this place yesterday when the floor opened up. Lucky, too, since it's one of the largest on this floor."

Agil and I basically made small talk until I began working with the furnace. I currently had 184 iron, 25 silver, and 17 gold ore to work with and I would be giving Agil most of my silver and gold since I don't really have a use for it outside of money.

Man, smelting was tiring even in Aincrad. Here in the game, you have to watch your ores and pull the lever to drain it out or you lose the ore and have to start over. Then, I have to take the metal and make sure I get just the right amount to fill an ingot cast and cool it. It's tedious, time-consuming, and if I didn't have someone to talk to, I'd probably go mad.

"Man, you've got _a lot _of ore. What did you do? Spend a day cleaning out the mountains on floor 2?" asked Agil, jokingly. I smiled, awkwardly, and he merely face palmed. "You're crazy, man. And you said you've been alone this whole time?"

"Until the other day, yeah. I saved someone on the last floor and we became friends," I said while continuing to work. I finished up the silver and gold and was a few ore away from being done with the iron.

"Oh, nice. It's always good to make friends. I became friends with a few people already. Some from the boss battles, some friends from IRL that I managed to find," said Agil. I nodded in understanding and finished up another ingot. "Hey, y'know, do you wanna add me onto your friends list?"

I turned around to look at him with a confused expression and he grinned at me.

"Cause, y'know, you'd be a great business partner, what with all the ore you're able to dig up. You could make me rich," said Agil with a bright grin. I sighed and smirked after I turned back to my work. Seems that friends are just popping up left and right now.

"Sure," I said, calmly, after a few moments of silence. Agil grinned, brightly, or at least I could feel his grin beaming into the back of my head, and when I finished my last ingot, a pop-up appeared asking if I wanted to become friends with Agil. I hit the blue button and the window faded away.

"Cool, by the way, what are you gonna make with all that iron?" asked Agil, curiously.

"I'm gonna make some slim, iron armor. I'm too vulnerable with just this cloak," I said as I took some of the hot iron over to the anvil. It would take 4 iron ingots to make it.

I set the ingots on the anvil and a menu popped-up asking what I wanted to make. I selected chest piece and chose the less bulky form. I began to smack the iron with my hammer, smashing them together and slowly working towards turning them into an item. After a minute or so, with Agil hovering over my shoulder, they began to glow and morph into a different shape. The glowed popped off into pixels and a large chest plate of a dull gray was left in its place.

"It's called the Chest Plate of Valor. It has the same defensive stats as steel armor. I've heard of this one before. Apparently there's like a 25% chance that you can make this chest plate with iron armor," I said, intrigued that I was lucky enough to make it.

"Nice, man. The better protection, the safer you'll be," said Agil. I grinned at the burly man and continued working. The rest of my armor came out fairly normal, not really being special in any way. I did, however, make an interesting sword. I combined a couple of the silver ore I had with some iron and made some silver steel. I then turned that into a sword, and wow. I created a long sword called The Silver Spark. It had a slim, silvery blade with a pure white hilt that branched out to form a T. There was a light blue gem at the top in the middle on both sides and that was pretty much it. Apparently, though, it's pretty rare and has a cool effect. It does immense damage to monsters and unholy creatures, mainly things like ghosts, demons, skeletons, and zombies. It also seems to have an effect on the undead. Pretty useful if you ask me, considering the rumors going around that the next floor is gonna be one big haunted house.

I spent the rest of the time turning my ingots into slashing weapons and pieces of armor, not really getting anything worthwhile. I ended up selling a massive amount to Agil, at a low price of course, and decided to sell the rest around town.

"Well, it was nice seeing yuh again, man. Take care out there, and feel free to come back here if you need to use my furnace again," said Agil, happy with his new pieces to sell.

"Sure, man. I'll see you around," I said while waving back to him and walking away.

Well today's been quite the interesting day, new acquaintances and now old.

* * *

**_So? What did you guys think?_**

**_I have brought back a member of the main cast. I really liked Agil. He was stout, honorable, kind, and I loved the money-maker theme he went with. Since he didn't show up much in either the LN, manga, or anime, I want to fill in some of the gaps by becoming friends with him._**

**_He won't appear again for a couple chapters, though, because he obviously has a shop to run and can't just appear out of nowhere._**

**_Anyways, Review and let me know what you thought, and until next time...byeee :D_**

**_Added Note: I just realized that none of my less than or greater than signs are coming out and therefore put them for nothing and inserted that note at the top for no reason._**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Hey guys, MT here!**_

_**I'm sorry for the late chapter! My laptop screen died on me so I might need to get either it or the cable replaced. It sucks but I guess that happens when you have the same laptop for 4 years. Also, I don't know how long it will take to get fixed, so next week's chapter may be late as well, sorry in advance.**_

**_Also, remember how I said this chapter would be boring? Yeah that thought went out the window. I thought of something that night and worked hard to implement the cool idea, though it kinda makes this chapter a bit depressing. Well, it might not be as much as I think, I'll leave it up to you._**

**_Anyways, enough spoilers, ENJOY!_**

**_UPDATED 7/15/15_**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Three days have passed since Aiko and I parted and I met Agil in his shop. The fifth floor had been opened a couple days ago but I was busy exploring the fourth floor and performing minor quests. There are a lot of blacksmiths in Lobria and most are NPCs so I was able to receive all kinds of metals and ingots from them.

The floor wasn't very interesting and I had heard that the fifth floor was like one big haunted house so I wanted to check it out. To be honest, I was pretty nervous as I approached the teleport gate. I have some pretty unreasonable fears, especially about the supernatural. I have a deep fear of ghosts and demons, mostly because I believe they actually exist but I can't fight against them in the real world.

I walked up to the gate and took a deep breath, clutching my silver-steel sword which would do extra damage against such creatures. I took my first step into the gate and stood in the middle before teleporting myself to the next floor.

When I appeared again, the blue light dissipated and I found myself in a dark town. A large pop-up appeared and it said Welcome to Draynor Village. I looked around and was intrigued. The trees, as far as the eye could see, were barren and dark. When I looked up, the sky was dark and large, puffy clouds rolled along the sky. Old, deteriorating houses surrounded the gate, a few here, a few there, and were illuminated crystal lights that hung from the corners of the roofs, giving off a faint orange light. I stepped off the teleport gate and wandered on the dark, dusty ground, looking for a tavern to get some info on this floor.

As I walked, I found a two-story, creaky inn which had a tavern on the first floor. I entered, ringing a bell, which caused an NPC to wander over to me.

"How may I help you, sir?" asked the young waitress, wearing what looked to be a bonnet and large dress from the 1800s. I asked to be seated at the bar and I sat down before ordering a simple glass of water, not really in the mood for anything else.

Behind the bar, was a player who must have not wanted to be a fighter so he became a bartender.

"Hey, bartender. Mind giving me some info on this floor?" I asked, already prepared to have to bribe him for it.

"Hm, new to the floor, eh?" asked the bartender as he wiped the inside of a mug with a rag. "Well, I could give you some info, though I don't know how useful it is. This floor is basically made up of a large graveyard in the center with a four or five small towns scattered about. In between is a nearly solid forest of barren trees. The monsters on this floor are mostly ghosts, zombies, y'know, the normal stuff you find in a haunted floor."

"Hm…thanks. Anything interesting I should be looking for?" I asked, happy that he was being so good about it. I'd better remember to give him a tip.

"Hm…well, a lot of the villagers in each town will give daily quests to take out a certain number of the monsters in an area. They'll give you decent stuff, some money, food, I heard someone even got holy sword," said the bartender, catching my attention. I could use some decent quests; it would really help my bank. Granted, though, I have like 50k Col already. "Oh! Before I forget, be careful when traveling between villages. Seems there are some PKers who have been talking about forming a guild. Better to stay away from them if you can."

"Thanks," I said before placing a hundred Col on the counter, which he accepted graciously. I left the inn and sighed. Great, the PKers are forming a guild. _Lovely. _Now it will be harder to deal with them because they'll be in a group. Whatever. As long as I stay away from them, I should be okay.

I wandered the village, looking for anything interesting, until I found a cloaked old man at the exit of the village. I approached him and his name popped up. He was called The Exorcist Lawrence.

"Hello, young one," began the man after I was close enough. "Can you assist me with a bit of extermination?"

A window popped up in front of me and asked 'Would you like to start the quest Exterminator?'. I hit the blue button, accepting the quest, and he continued.

"There have been an increasing number of ghosts littering the graveyard in the center of the floor. I am old and can no longer fight so many of them, however you can. You do not need anything special to defeat them, though you will probably have to fight 20 or so, please make sure you are prepared and," said the old man before holding out a blue crystal towards me. "Use this to teleport to the graveyard when you are ready."

I took the crystal and nodded before turning to leave. Twenty ghosts won't be easy, but as long as I stock up on some health crystals, I should be fine.

* * *

I had walked back over to the edge of town when I had prepared everything and took the crystal out to teleport. I used it and was encased in a blue light, reappearing in the center of a spooky graveyard which stretched out extremely far in all directions.

"Hmm…now where are-" I began before suddenly leaping out of the way of an attack. A ghost of a soldier had slashed at me with his sword, just barely missing me when I dodged. I pulled out my sword and slashed him in one, quick motion, cutting him in half. The ghostly body reconnected itself but I could see that more than half its health was gone. Either these ghosts were weaker than I thought or this sword is way better against these kinds of mobs.

More ghosts appeared around me, some of villagers with white eyes, some who looked like wealthy lords, and others of soldiers like the first one. I fought back, slicing away at the ghosts, taking them down one at a time. A counter appeared in the corner of my vision and I saw it slowly increase. There were 25 ghosts to kill and within 20 minutes I had taken down ten of them. My health was down to two-thirds and I was now in alert mode. I began to cut away at them more swiftly while also being more cautious to their attacks, carefully weaving in between them. To dodge one attack, I even did a back flip.

I glanced at the counter again. Then my health bar. Half health. Alright, time for a potion. I pulled a potion out of the small box on my belt and, while dodging attacks, gulped it down. I could feel it quickly regenerating my health and I grinned before slicing the head off a ghost, effectively killing off the last of its health.

Left, right, left, right. One slash that way, dodge from the other way. Duck, pierce, swipe into the one next to it. Jump, flip, spin, cut.

I worked my way, whittling them down. It's been forty minutes since I began this and I was already down to 2 ghosts, both soldiers. My potion's effect was long gone but I was only a quarter down in health, allowing me to relax. Two ghosts won't be difficult at all.

I finally killed them both after swiping through their heads, then their chests, wiping out the rest of their health. I panted but grinned because I was able to complete the quest with no problems. Hell, I even got some ectoplasm from them. That'll be a good thing to sell to the potion makers.

"Alright, now I just have to find my teleport crystal and-" I began as I looked through the pouch on my belt. I was suddenly cut off when I felt a sword pierce through my chest, the end appearing in front of me. A symbol appeared next to my health bar, signifying that I was paralyzed and I nearly panicked. I struggled to turn my head while secretly searching for my antidote crystal. "Who…?"

I heard dark laughter coming from behind me and when I turned enough, I could see a hooded figure with a rapier which was going straight through my armor. My health was dropping quickly and I glared at him.

"Now, now," said the man before jiggling the sword, violently, in my chest. "You shouldn't look so hostile to the players who could easily kill you."

"There are others?" I asked, eyes widening. Two other players, both hooded, walked into my view and I growled, low and threateningly.

"Come on, Bael, kill him already. The big event is happening tomorrow and we still have to reach the destination," called out one of the players.

"Shut the hell up! I wanna have some fun. I'm dying of boredom, traveling on this boring as hell landscape," shouted who I assumed to be Bael, the one who was stabbing me. I merely watched them, finally finding my antidote crystal. I used it, surprising Bael, and it healed my paralysis. I ran forward, pulling the sword out of my chest, and ran away from them before turning around and taking a fighting stance. I glanced at my health, only a quarter left. Holy crap...holy freaking crap. I almost died. Scratch that, I still might die. I quickly grabbed a heal crystal, which I only ever use for emergencies, and used it, quickly, completely restoring my health.

"Dammnit, Bael," shouted the last man who had remained silent until then. "Zahir told you to take him out quickly. Now we have to take him down the old fashioned way."

I got into a stance and quickly thought of a plan to fight them. I'll be safe from paralysis for another 20 minutes due to the antidote's effects. There are three of them and they aren't very well equipped. Only the one who I assume is Zahir has some decent armor and he's only wearing chainmail. All three of them also have fairly weak swords; Bael having his rapier, Zahir having an iron scimitar, and the last one carrying a bronze long sword.

My options weren't unfavorable. I could either run and, once far enough, use my teleport crystal, or fight them. As long as I'm careful it shouldn't be too hard to bring them to low enough health that they'll run away but what if they don't? I don't want to have to kill them. I mean, I'd be killing _real _people. I never want to do that.

Alright, then that means my only option is to run. If I do, I won't have the possibility of killing them.

"Bael, Daisuke, you two need to take care of this one. We can't let him know our names or the information about tomorrow," said Zahir, calmly. Tomorrow? Oh! They did say that there was an event tomorrow. What event, though?

"Oh, come one, Zahir! This guy can't beat three players, plus I doubt he'd ever kill us. He's a pussy, man. We could tell him everything and he'd probably freak out and we could take him out quick," said Daisuke. He then turned to me and grinned, evilly. "Hey, man! You see how all our cursors are orange? We're PKers!"

Haha, kinda figured that when you tried to kill me, dumbass.

"Tomorrow, our guild of PKers will be making ourselves famous and I'm pretty sure you know what that means!" shouted Daisuke before cackling, loudly. I stared wide-eyed in realization. The only way they could make themselves famous is to do something big. Being PKers, their way of making themselves famous would be to do what they do best, killing players, and a lot of them at that. "See? He's smart! He gets it! Look at that horrified face!"

"Alright, alright. Now kill him before he gets away and tells everyone," said Zahir, eliciting groans from the other two.

"Would you calm your tits, Zahir? I wanna enjoy it when I kill him," said Bael, probably annoyed that he was being rushed to kill me. Zahir glared at him and Bael stiffened. "Fine, fine."

Bael began to walk over to me while redrawing is rapier and sighing, probably sad that he would have to rush it.

Alright, this is it. I can't run anymore. Not knowing that they're going on a killing spree tomorrow. I have to take them out to make sure that they don't kill anyone tomorrow. I wish I could have avoided this.

I moved into a battle stance and prepared for the man. He grinned, evilly, at me and suddenly broke into a sprint while pointing the tip of his rapier at me. I prepared myself and, the moment he was close enough, I swung my sword in a small circle, parrying his attack, causing his sword to be thrown out of the way. I quickly slashed at him, cutting him in the chest, which caused him to jump back in surprise.

"Heh, you're pretty good. No one's ever parried my attack before," said Bael while clutching the glowing red mark on his chest. He moved into a battle stance but I was already running at him, sword poised to slash. He threw up his rapier, catching my sword which recoiled off of his from the force. He grinned and activated his sword skill before moving towards me. I quickly dodged the attack, already having seen that sword skill from Asuna during the first floor boss fight, and then turned my sword and stabbed him in the side. Bael yelped in pain but I held my sword firm, taking hits from Bael in an attempt to remove me. He elbowed me, punched me, and smashed the hilt of his sword into my head, slowly angering me.

"DIE!" I shouted, angrily, my rage overflowing from the hits. Bael saw that his health was nearing 0 and began to panic, smacking his sword onto me harder and harder. I could hear Daisuke shouting and running over to us to help Bael but it was already too late. I swiped, suddenly, cutting Bael in half and wiping out the last of his health.

"N-No way…" said Bael, wide-eyed, as the two halves of his body hovered in the air. A moment later, his body blew up into pixels, those pixels fading away.

"B-Bael…" said Daisuke, shocked that his friend was killed so easily. I glanced over at the two who remained. Daisuke was horrified, but Zahir had a serious expression. It didn't really matter, though...I'd already snapped.

"Hehehe…" I laughed, psychotically. My bangs created a dark shadow over my face and I grinned, darkly, at Daisuke who flinched back. "Death is coming for you."

Daisuke's eyes widened and he stumbled to pull out his long sword, barely pulling it out without dropping it. I moved into a battle position and ran at full speed towards Daisuke, catching him off guard. Daisuke attempted to block the attack but I smashed my sword into his, hitting the weak point and destroying the sword. The momentum from my slash continued through the sword and dug into his shoulder a bit. Said man yelped in pain and kicked me away from him, causing me to grit my teeth as I slid away.

"W-What the hell are you?" asked Daisuke when I merely stared at him with blank eyes yet blasting him with killing intent. I ran at top speed, stopping just before running into him, and stared at him straight in his eyes, our faces just inches apart.

"I'm your end," I whispered before suddenly stabbing my sword into his chest. He gasped and attempted to push me away but I just pulled my sword out and sliced off his arm, causing him to scream in pain. He clutched the place where his arm once was before roaring at me and attempting to punch me with a skill attack. I sliced off his other arm without a second thought, causing him to roar in pain again. "Goodbye."

I said that simply and swiped, slicing off his head and wiping out the last of his health. He merely stared at me in horror as he blew up in a blast of pixels before dissipating into nothingness.

This was bad. This is what happens when I really snap. Before it was just against a mob so it wasn't as bad but this, this is bad. I'm killing them as if they're nothing.

I stood there, watching where Daisuke had dissipated, and I just relaxed the muscles in my neck as it rolled, turning my head to look at Zahir, my eyes wide.

"Your turn…" I said, killing intent laced into my words. He merely stared at me with a serious expression as he took out a crystal. It was blue. A teleport crystal.

"Those fools aren't worth crying over. I'm off. I look forward to killing you later," said Zahir with a small, sadistic smile before using the teleport crystal. I watched him disappear, and a few minutes after he did, I fell to my knees.

Tears streamed down my face. One other thing I hate about this world. I can't hide my emotions like IRL.

"I murdered them...I killed them," I said, aloud to nobody in particular. I glanced up and looked at my cursor. Still green. I heard that attacking orange players doesn't change your cursor color because self-defense is advocated in this game. This wasn't self-defense, though. "Please change...please show me that I'm a horrible person."

I continued to cry as I fell down onto all fours, clutching my sword in my hand. My hands as well as my sword were stained in blood. Whether or not they were murderers, whether or not they were going to murder, I had _no right _to kill them. Imprisonment. Being hated by everyone in the game. Being shunned. Those are punishments. Death is never one.

* * *

I don't know how long I remained there on the floor. Minutes, hours, who knows. All I know is that I eventually went back to the town to find an inn. I laid down in my bed and stared up at the ceiling, the tears beginning again. Soon after, I fell asleep.

I woke up the next morning and spent the entire day in bed, not moving, just hating myself for what I had done. I only left the room once and that was to try and warn people about what I had learned. That the PKer's guild was going to go on a massacre. No one believed me, of course.

I don't know where, I don't know when, but I knew that people died that day. December 31, 2022, people were killed by a PKer guild.

The next day, January 1, 2023, I read the paper that existed in SAO, run by some people on the first floor. On the front cover was what I had feared. The headline read 'PKers wipe out small guild during New Year's celebrations!'. Below it was an article explaining what happened, and that is when I learned the name of the guild that would be known as the most infamous guild in all of SAO.

Two days ago, was my first encounter with the guild I would come to hate, Laughing Coffin.

* * *

_**So? What did you guys think?**_

_**I always thought they could have incorporated Laughing Coffin as a much greater villain in the Aincrad arc. Of course they come back full force in the GGO arc (SPOILERS!) and it kind of appeased me. Well, until I started writing this fic. I want to make LC an active threat and will have them appear several times or more as I go on.**_

_**Also, you can see how accurate I am being with making sure everything lines with up with the LNs. On the wiki it explains how LC made themselves known on Dec 31, 2022 and it was reported on Jan 1,2023. Just wanted to show how anal I'm being about getting everything exact :)**_

_**Anyways, Review and let me know what you guys thought and, until next time...byeee :D**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Hey guys, MT here!**_

**_I'm sorry I wasn't able to get a chapter out last week due to what I had mentioned. I got my laptop back Monday and I decided that as sorry I was going to put out two chapters this week to compensate._**

_**When I made this chapter...well, I kind of felt bad...let me know if I've got problems or not...**_

**_ENJOY!_**

**_UPDATED 7/15/15_**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**_One month later…_**

It's been a little over a month since that terrible time. One month since I murdered two Laughing Coffin members. I've tried not to think about it. It only deteriorates my sanity when I do.

Anyways, enough about that past. Let me bring you up to speed. Two weeks after what had happened, the players who clear the floors, who I call the front-liners, defeated the boss of the fifth floor. Floor six had been completed 2 days ago. Floor six didn't really have anything interesting. it was just another mountainous area which I spent the entire time mining. I haven't gone back to Agil's shop, though, I'll go when I have more ore.

Today is February 14, 2023. I'm currently on the 7th floor and am walking through one of the nicest floors I've seen in Aincrad. The floor has endless rolling meadows of grass spreading out from the small, quaint town in the center. The meadow rolls out quite far, only being interrupted by a few pines here and there, until you hit a wall of pines near the edge of the floor. There are 2 other small towns on this floor and I am currently on my way to one of them.

Aiko messaged me yesterday and told me she and her brother were staying in the small town called Mortem Town and mentioned that we should meet up since it has been almost 2 months since we last met.

I can already see the gate at the top of the hill and am now speeding up to arrive quicker. I opened up my friends list and quickly found Aiko's name, it being very easy considering I only have two names on the list. I began to type 'Almost at gate, meet me there?'.

I arrived at the gate a few minutes after sending the message and, once passing through it, began to look around. This town was very small, only 2 inns and several houses scattered about, all connected by flush brick which wrapped around each house and left no room for grass in the small courtyard.

"Hm? Where is she? Did she not see my message?" I asked myself aloud, as I wandered. One of the male players nearby heard my comment and snickered.

"What's up, man? Get stood up?" teased the man, causing me to roll my eyes. Aiko wouldn't have stood me up and if she did, it would have been for a good reason. I mean, she looked so sincere when we were together those two days. Plus, I saw her friends list. She really only had her brother and I.

I decided to ignore the player's comment and began to wander the village in hopes to run into her. My first stop was an inn so that I could reserve a room before it got crowded when night approached. I should really think about buying a house. I'll be able to teleport to it whenever and I can teleport back to any location I've visited so there really isn't a big deal. Meh, whatever.

The inn was called 'The Sleeping Hound' and it was a quaint inn with a decent sized bar and a few tables scattered around the room. As I spoke with the innkeeper, who was a player, surprisingly, I heard someone running down the stairs and my head flew in the direction of the stairs when i heard a familiar scream and someone rolling down the steps.

Aiko appeared on the ground floor, curled up on the floor and dizzy. I ran over to her knelt down next to her.

"Aiko! Are you alright?" I asked as I wrapped my arm around her and helped her up.

"Unghhh...Yeah, thanks sir- Oh! Shikai!" shouted Aiko, suddenly, while rubbing her head. "How are you?! I'm sorry; I was doing something and couldn't make it down in time."

"Haha, it's alright. I was just a little worried, but are you sure you're okay? Why did you roll down the stairs like that?" I asked, curiously. I swear if she says she tripped I'm not sure I'll be able to contain my laughter.

"Oh! I saw your message and came running down the stairs but I'm not used to these plate legs so I lost my footing and fell," said Aiko, sheepishly, a blush of embarrassment streaked across her face. I looked at her for a moment, causing her to wear a confused expression, and then burst out in laughter. Aiko pouted and stomped her foot as she scolded me. "It's not funny! It really hurt, even if you can't take damage in a safe zone!"

"You're right, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just couldn't help myself. I mean, I can be clumsy IRL but I've never tripped because of my clothing," I said before cracking up again, causing her to throw a jab to my side, causing a clank from our armors hitting together.

"Anyways, um...how have you been?" asked Aiko while glancing past me. I cocked a brow in curiosity and turned to see the innkeeper going into the backroom. I turned back to Aiko, choosing not to question it, and answered her question.

"I've been...decent. Hit a rough patch on the fifth floor but I managed to get by, you?" I asked, wanting to know how she was doing as well. She stiffened a bit at my question and I became a suspicious but I decided not to prod.

"I've been okay...I guess...nothing different has really happened," said Aiko, frowning a bit as she said the last part. She noticed my worried expression and she immediately changed her expression, now wearing one of elation. "Anyways! So...ummm...today's...uhh...Valentine's Day...and all and I just...wanted to give you something, you know, since you're my friend."

As she said this, Aiko pulled up her menu and a small box appeared in her hands a moment later, causing me to tilt my head. She held it out to me, blushing profusely while doing so, and I stared at it curiously.

"I-Is this for me?" I asked, nervously. She nodded, sheepishly, and I blushed brightly as I took it from her hands. Gosh freaking dammnit! I'm 25 years old and I'm acting like a freaking high school student who has a crush! "T-Thanks, Aiko. I kinda feel bad since I didn't get you something."

"No, no! You don't need to do that, I just hope the chocolate tastes good. I'm not really good at cooking, even here in the game…" said Aiko, sheepishly, while looking away. I blushed at how adorable she looked but I had to reassure her. If she's as bad a cook as I am, she will need some reassurance to feel better about herself. I opened the box and picked up the small, lumpy chocolate and tossed it into my mouth before crunching down on it.

The chocolate had a normal texture, nothing different there. What was different was that it was _bitter! _She didn't put enough sugar but it's still better than what mine would have been. Rock-hard, inedible, and probably toxic. Hers, though, was good aside from the bitter taste.

"It's delicious!" I said, aloud, causing her to turn towards me and smile brightly.

"Really?! Are you sure? I thought I might have left it in the fridge too long or that I didn't mix it enough," said Aiko, listing off her concerns one by one.

"It's great, I love it," I said, causing her to blush at my compliment.

"I'm glad," she said, wearing a cute expression that made even my virtual heart skip a beat.

"So...ummm…"I began, trying to change the topic before my brain burned out from looking at her. "Where's your brother? I assume you gave him some chocolate too."

As soon as I said that, I regretted it. Her expression fell to one of depression and she turned away.

"S-Sora, is...umm...he went to one of the other towns to meet a friend…*sniff*...and won't be back until tomorrow…" said Aiko, her sniffling becoming more prominent. I walked around her so I could look her in the eye and tears were streaming down her face as she bit down her lip in order to stifle her sobs. My forehead creased in worry and I stopped for a moment before reaching out and grabbing her wrist, loosely, to pull her with me.

"Come on, we're going to talk," I said, sternly, causing her eyes to widen a bit at my seriousness. I think that's why she didn't resist.

* * *

I dragged Aiko to the edge of town and sat her down on the edge of the bricks which came down into a three stair ledge that overlooked one of the grassy plains. The flowers bloomed here and there, adding some spots of color that beamed out from the green campus. Reds, blues, yellows, and purples blew back and forth in the wind.

I fell down next to her and we silently watched the rolling grassy fields as I prepared myself for whatever issues she could be dealing with. I had to do this a few times IRL. Help people with serious problems they had. Ones that made them cry. This is another one to add to that list.

"Tell me what's wrong, Aiko," I said, finally breaking the silence. She remained silent and I turned my head to look at her. She was looking away from me, her expression sad. "Come on, I'm your friend. You can talk to me."

"I...I don't really know how to deal with having a friend…" she said, sadly.

"You've never had a friend before? But you're, what, 22 years old? Twenty-three? You have to have had at least one friend," I countered, trying to prod her on.

"Sora never let me...He said all we ever needed was each other...Our parent's died in an accident when I was ten...Sora was 14 at the time and he told our other family members that he would take care of me and for them to just send money. Sora and I have lived alone ever since. Before the accident, I was really shy and never really tried to make friends, always avoiding people out of fear of what they would think of me. After the accident, when people in my class tried to reach out to me, Sora scared them off and told me that he was all I'd ever need for a friend. I was okay with that for awhile, but things started...getting strange," Aiko explained, peaking my curiosity.

"Go on," I said when she stopped. She glanced at me, probably worried I would be disgusted by her story or something along those lines.

"Around a year after our parent's death, Sora started acting weird. He started sneaking into my bed at night, telling me he had nightmares about our parents. I thought it was weird that the older sibling was needing comfort from the younger, but I just went with it. Soon, though, boys from my school started going to the hospital. I didn't understand it until I was in 8th grade when a boy I liked almost died after being attacked by someone. When I got home, I found my brother, covered in blood, and muttering something under his breath. It freaked me out, but I never asked out of fear of what he might have done to me. After that incident, people stopped coming near me. No one spoke to me, no one even acknowledged me. I didn't understand what was going on. That is, until my 16th birthday. Sora f-forced…" continued Aiko.

Aiko was beginning to break out into tears, shuddering a bit from the memories. I scooted over to her and began to rub her back, soothingly, causing her to glance at me and then continue.

"S-Sora, he forced me to strip down and began to take pictures of me. He said things like 'This is so I can cherish my little sister' and 'It's my right as your brother'. I knew they were lies, but I was afraid. One day later on, I decided to look around his room while he was at work. I f-found a handgun in his drawer and my naked pictures. I even found some of my panties scrunched up in the drawer. I didn't know what to do so I just sat in my room and cried. When Sora came home and saw me crying, he consoled me which gave me some hope. After that, he didn't harass me, even acted like a normal brother. Aside from my birthdays, where he would take more photos, he was normal, not his previously strange self. That is, until we got here…" continued Aiko, tears streaming down her face and her sobs barely muffled as she spoke. "When we entered SAO, and found out we were trapped, Sora slowly reverted to his normal self. We split up to train and I missed him. Can you believe it? I mean, he's still my brother, one of my last remaining close family members. Plus I didn't know anyone else. When we met up again, though, I regretted my feelings. As soon as you left, he struck me and made me tell him everything that I did with you, probably thinking I did something inappropriate."

So it was what I heard! I hadn't realized it until now, but I was clenching my teeth, even gripping the stairs below me. She looked at me and saw my tensed position, causing her eyes to widen a bit.

"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you all that...You are probably disgusted…" said Aiko, sadly, as she glanced away. I was _furious _with her brother. She did nothing wrong. I would have reacted exactly the same in her situation. Her brother is an enormous douche bag for taking advantage of her like that.

"Continue," I said, low, as I tried to suppress my fury.

"What?" said Aiko, turning back to me, her eyes wide with surprise. I gripped the bricks so hard that a notification came up saying Immortal Object and she stared in shock.

"Continue," I said, bringing her attention back to me. Her eyes were filled with worry as she thought I was forcing myself to continue listening. After a moment, she saw the seriousness in my eyes and she continued.

"During the time in which we were apart, Sora has gotten more violent. He only ever strikes me in a safe zone, but I think it's more so he doesn't become an orange player. He hits me usually when guys check me out or when I tried to message you, which is why I haven't kept in touch. For the last week, though, he's been looking at me weird. Almost like he's lusting after me, it's strange…" said Aiko, blatantly disturbed by such a feeling.

"Aiko, I want to talk to your brother when he gets back. As soon as he does, I want you to tell me. Also, don't tell him you spoke to me," I said, calmly, as I rose up. I could feel Aiko's stare pierce the back of my head but I ignored it as I heard her suddenly rise up.

"W-What are you going to do, Shikai? Even with what he's done, Sora is still my brother and a person. I don't want you to kill him!" shouted Aiko, suddenly. I tensed at her words and I spun around before grabbing both her arms.

"I will never kill a person unless they attempt to kill others. I don't plan on killing your brother," I said, seriously. She looked at me, startled by my reaction, but recomposed herself.

"Then w-what are you going to do?" asked Aiko, a bit scared as to what I was going to do.

"I'm going to beat the living shit out of him," I said, calmly and coldly. Aiko stared at me in awe after she processed those words but after a few minutes she cocked a brow at me.

"That sounded cool and all, but...can you let me go now?" Aiko asked while looking down at where I was still gripping her arms. I blushed in embarrassment and let go of her, muttering out a 'Sorry' and rubbing the back of my head. Aiko giggled and we parted again. Until tomorrow, when I will beat the lesson of how to be a good brother into Sora's head.

* * *

_**So? What did you guys think?**_

_**Yeah...I tried to end it on a lighter note, y'know, to make myself seem less like an asshole with the back story I gave Aiko. I really feel bad, but I needed to give her such a back story for future events.**_

_**Anyways, please Review and let me know what you guys thought and check out the next chapter which is posted as well!**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Hey guys, MT here!**_

_**This is the next chapter that I promised and I hope you guys like it!**_

**_ENJOY!_**

**_UPDATED 7/15/15_**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**_The next morning…_**

It's 10:30am right now and I'm waiting at the entrance of town for Aiko and her brother. I asked her to message me when she found out when she and her brother were leaving town and she messaged me this morning at 8 that they would be leaving around 11. I'd like to keep our little 'conversation' inside the safe zone because I don't want to risk putting him in danger even if he is a big fat douche.

As I sat there, I munched out some buttered bread as my breakfast, thinking about how things were going to go. Until a message notification popped up. I opened it and smiled when I saw her cute little message. 'Be down now in a few. Be good :)'

My mood was good, uninterrupted…well for a few minutes at least.

It took 4 minutes after receiving Aiko's message to hear her scream. I stood up (more like leapt up) and looked around, only to see Sora dragging his sister by her hair towards where she and I had spoken the day before. I silently ran after them, trying to remain hidden as I followed. Not many people were out at this time, mostly because a majority of the people staying in town had been up doing some late-night grinding.

I carefully moved to the corner of the building, my body pressed to the wall, and I could see Sora dragging Aiko out into the field, quickly reaching the end of the safe zone which was only about 20 feet from the ledge that Aiko and I had been sitting on the day before. I forced myself to remain calm as I watched how he yanked at her hair and yelled at her to hurry up.

He finally stopped just outside the safe zone and he threw her in front of him, causing her to crash into the grass, face first. I watched, carefully, and listened closely. My Straining skill, the skill that allows me to hear things from greater distances, is actually pretty high because of my intense training in caves with low visibility so I am able to just barely make out what they're saying.

"So, you're talking to that Shikai, guy again, huh?!" shouted Sora, angrily, causing Aiko to flinch. "What did I tell you? That guy just wants you to do inappropriate things with him!"

"He's n-not like t-that," said Aiko, sadly, in response to her brother's accusations. He struck her across the head with his armored hand and his cursor turned orange while Aiko lost a small amount of health.

"Yes he is! Now you're making me rush! Now he's going to take my little sister's precious purity," said Sora as he paced back and forth in front of her.

Rush? He couldn't be…

"Well then," said Sora as he stopped in front of his sister, still facing away from her. He tilted his head and looked at her with what I assumed to be a frightening expression from the look of horror on Aiko's face. "Seems I'll have to take it first."

The Immortal Object notification came up as I nearly crushed the corner of the wall in my hand. I watched as Aiko began to slowly crawl backwards, away from her insane brother. I was still trying to restrain myself. Hoping, just hoping, that it was just all a joke. That he was just playing some kind of sick, disgusting, completely horrible joke on her.

Sora began to slowly walk towards her and he continued.

"Come now, little sister. I don't want to have to hurt you. If you don't struggle I promise I won't hurt you," said Sora with a voice laced with insanity. This man is trying my patience. If it's a joke please say so.

"P-Please, Sora, no. Please stop," said Aiko, tears flowing down her cheeks. I saw Sora pull a dagger off of his belt and held it up, my eyes widening as my hope that this was a joke was crushed. "Please, no. Don't kill me, Sora."

Sora laughed, maniacally, in response to his sister's horror. The sadistic bastard then lunged at her. Stabbing the blade into her shoulder. I watched her body go limp and I realized he used a paralysis poison on her. This was the last straw.

I flew across the field, equipping my enormous battle hammer as I did so. As I ran across the field, I could see Sora was hovering over his sister, crawling over her body and licking her ear. His actions only further fueled my anger and when I was in striking range of him, I shouted.

"GET THE HELL," I began as I swung my hammer behind me, causing Sora to notice me. "AWAY FROM," I swung my hammer at Sora and it smashed into his stomach, causing him to cough out saliva and his eyes bulged out of his head from the sheer force. "AIKO!"

Sora was blasted off of Aiko and flew backwards, smashing into the ground and skipping like a stone before rolling to a spot some distance away.

I stood in front of Aiko, panting from the sheer amount of exertion, and glanced down at Aiko. I grabbed my antidote crystal and used it on her, taking away her paralysis and allowing her to move again. Aiko stared at me in awe, unable to believe what I had just done and I kneeled down and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You okay?" I asked as she sat up. She nodded hesitantly and I flashed her a small smile before putting on a serious expression and getting up and walking towards Sora. I switched my weapon to my sword as I watched Sora slowly get up and groan in pain.

"What the hell was that for?" asked Sora as he pulled out a sword.

"For doing such a despicable thing to your sister. Every other beating you receive from me is for every single day you hurt her," I said, seriously. I walked close enough to attack him and slashed at him which he caught with his sword.

"Why do you even care? She's my sister! I have the right to do as I like with her. It's my right as her brother!" shouted Sora before smashing his sword against me, pushing me back. I slammed my sword back against him, pushing his sword out of the way and giving me the chance to slash at him. He stepped backwards and clutched the cut in his chest while looking at me and then glancing at his health which was almost half down.

"What kind of logic is that?! What the hell is wrong with you?!" I shouted at him, angrily. He was pissing me off and the only reason I hadn't lost it yet was because Aiko was nearby.

"What do you know?!" shouted Sora before lunging at me and attempting to pierce me. I parried the attack and elbowed him in the back of the neck, pushing him to the ground. He leapt up again and moved into a defensive position before laughing, maniacally.

"What the hell are you laughing at?" I asked, annoyed that I had to deal with such an insane person.

"Oh, nothing. I just remembered that my friends should be coming by soon since I haven't met with them yet," Sora laughed. I looked at him, quizzically, and he smirked before pulling his tall collar down. The symbol that he revealed caused me to gasp. "Hell, yes. That's the look I was hoping for. Look in horror at one of the newest members of the murder guild, Laughing Coffin!"

Aiko gasped from behind Sora and I stared at him blankly, unable to believe that someone I knew joined such a horrible guild. He smirked at me and then leapt towards me, ready to slash. As he slashed at me, I sliced off his hand, causing his sword to fly off and pierce the ground behind me. He roared out in pain while I continued to stare at him.

"When," I said, simply, attracting his attention.

"Aiko told you I was meeting friends yesterday, right? Who do you think those friends were?" said Sora while smiling at me, psychotically.

"Aiko…I might not be able to keep my promise," I said, sadly. I didn't want to kill someone else. I really didn't, but if I didn't, not only would other people be in danger; Sora might go after Aiko again in the future. On top of that, he just threatened to kill her if she didn't let him _rape _her. As much as I want to let him live, I know I can't.

Aiko stared at me, her face horrified but she didn't speak or try to stop me. I guess she had the same ideas I had about why I would need to kill him.

"What promise?" asked Sora, confused by what was going on. I wasted no time in slicing off his other hand, causing him to roar in pain again and back away from me. He glanced at his HP and noticed he was nearing empty and he began to panic. "W-Wait, if you keep doing this, you're going to kill me. You're not the type of guy to do that, right?"

I sliced off one of his legs, causing him to lose his balance, and as he fell, I grabbed his head by his hair, holding him up to look at me.

"I'll do what I have to, in order to ensure the safety of the innocent players in this game," I said, coldly. His eyes widened in fear and he began to say 'No' but was interrupted when I sliced his head in half, wiping out the rest of his health. As I watched his body burst into pixels, streams of tears fell down my face, my eyes still empty.

"Shikai?" said Aiko, aloud, tears streaming down her face at the loss of her last close family member.

My eyes sparked a bit with emotion and I fell to my knees and began to sob, violently.

"Shikai!" shouted Aiko at my sudden drop and she crawled over to where I was before patting my shoulder. "Shh…Y-You did the right thing…he…he would have done bad things, things like what he did to me, but to other people. Please don't cry."

Aiko's voice was cracking and I knew she was struggling to not cry harder at her loss, but I still snapped at her.

"Was it really?! Did I really have the right to take someone's life because they would do horrible things in the future?" I shouted, regretting it when I saw the hurt in Aiko's eyes. My head drooped so that I was facing the ground and I was clutching my hands into tight fists on my lap. "Please…Please tell me you hate me. You hate me to taking away your brother. That you're disgusted with me for so easily disposing of a human life. Please show me that what I did was wrong."

A few moments of silence passed, the only sounds were the soft sobs coming from both of us. Aiko then hesitantly wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed my face into her bosom, causing my eyes to widen in surprise.

"I'm sad that my brother is gone, despite how he treated me. Still, though, I don't h-hate you. I-I'm not disgusted because y-you had the courage to do something that n-no one else could do," said Aiko, stuttering a bit from her soft sobs. I crushed my eyes shut and cried a bit harder while she merely held me tighter, crying with me. After a couple minutes, I hesitantly stretched my arms out and slid my arms around her, causing her to tense a bit. "Shikai?"

"Thank you…thank you so much…I've needed this for awhile…" I said, my voice cracking a bit from crying.

"Shikai, what was that rough patch you were talking about yesterday?" asked Aiko after connecting my words with what happened on the fifth floor.

"…I was attacked…by three Laughing Coffin members…and killed two of them to save myself," I said after a moment of silence. Aiko held me a bit tighter and I continued. "After I did those things, so mercilessly, I almost lost my sanity. I wanted to punish myself for what I did. I didn't feel _worthy _of continuing on after doing something so horrible. When I killed your brother…I was about to snap and just stop functioning all together, until you called out to me…that's why, thank you for saving me from my despair…"

"Shikai…please never deal with things by yourself again. I'll be here for you whenever you need me," said Aiko, calmly, her sobs gone but the stream of tears still going. I nodded, slowly, while still pressed into her bosom and she allowed me to move off of her.

"I'll be here for you too, Aiko," I said, smiling, softly, at her.

* * *

_**So?**_

_**I know, I'm horrible. I also feel like Aiko should have been WAYYY angrier with me but at the same time I feel like her reaction was proper. Review and let me know.**_

_**Anyways, until next time...byeee :D**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Hey guys, MT here!**_

_**So the depressing chapters have ended...for now *evil laugh***_

_**I'm going to have, along with this chapter, a couple chapters of a nicer, happier atmosphere because I have no intention of making this story a depressing one.**_

_**I hope you guys like it and ENJOY!**_

**_UPDATED 7/15/15_**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

It's been four days since I killed Sora. Aiko and I had rented a room together and basically stayed there most of the day. For the first two days, Aiko cried a lot when some of the good memories she had with her brother surfaced and all I could do was sit there and hold her as she did so, tearing up a bit as I watched her pained face. I still hated myself for what I did, more so when I realized how I had killed Sora. Cutting off his limbs was completely uncalled for. I really need to hold myself back more. I can't become like the PKers…though I'm technically one myself.

Either ways, I don't want to talk about sad things. Today, Aiko and I finally have some life in us and we went to the general store together, not daring to leave the other alone, and bought some playing cards. We came back to the inn and sat down at one of the tables, the innkeeper serving us some drinks, and we began to play some card games, the current one being Go Fish.

"Soooo…got any 4s?" asked Aiko, a bright smile on her face. She had 3 complete sets on the table in front of her and I'm pretty sure she had three of the fours. I, on the other hand, had one complete set. I always did suck at card games.

"Go. Fish," I said, grinning at her. She pouted and puffed her cheeks before picking up a card from the pile in the middle of the table.

"Got any jacks?" I asked, knowing she did because she took one from me a couple turns earlier. I had gotten another, though, when I had to pull from the pile.

Aiko groaned and pulled three cards from her hand before tossing them to me. I smirked and grabbed my jack and her three and placed them in a neat pile next to my other complete set.

"I'm catching up~~," I sung, causing her to scowl at me. I chuckled at her childish expressions and I looked over my cards again before choosing another card number. "What abouttttt…twos?"

"Go. Fish," mimicked Aiko, causing me to scowl at her. She broke out in a fit of giggles and I smiled at her.

"Can I get you two some refills?" asked the innkeeper as he passed by our table.

"Yeah, what about you, Aiko?" I asked while handing my cup to the innkeeper. Aiko's giggles died out and she was finally able to speak.

"Y-Yes *giggle* please," said Aiko as she held out her cup to the innkeeper. He took it with a smile and left to refill our cups, appearing again several minutes later.

"Refills for the lovely couple," said the innkeeper, causing Aiko and I to tense up.

"W-W-We're not a couple!" shouted Aiko, her face flushed in embarrassment. The innkeeper chuckled to himself and began to walk away from us, leaving Aiko to fall back in her seat and pout. She glanced at me out of the corner of her eye and saw the enormous blush that completely covered my face. She pulled her eyes away from me and I could see her blush deepen a bit.

"W-W-Well…ummm…s-shall we continue?" asked Aiko, trying to break the tension. I simply nodded, not trusting my voice from cracking, which would embarrass the hell out of me by the way, and Aiko pulled her cards up to her face. "Umm…f-fives?"

I cursed under my breath and handed Aiko two of my fives, causing a bright smile to appear on her face again; some of the embarrassment gone.

"What about threes?" asked Aiko, her mood perking up.

"Go fish~," I sung, my mood improving almost as quickly as hers. She pouted and took a card from the pile before she smacked her cards face down on the table and took a swig of her drink. I grinned and glanced at my cards. "Aces."

"Gosh freaking dammnit!" shouted Aiko, grabbing her two aces and giving them to me. I placed my complete set of aces down on the table, now at three complete sets.

"Now, now, no need to get agitated," I mocked, causing her to growl at me. Oh how I love messing with this girl. I mean, I've always loved to push people's buttons, but Aiko's adorably childish responses make it _all _the sweeter. "Hm…Kings?"

"Ahah! Go Fish!" shouted Aiko, scaring the crap out of me. I rolled my eyes at her, said girl bouncing around in her seat happily, and pulled a card from the pile. "Sevens?"

I pulled out a single seven and handed it to her, causing her to grin, happily, as she set a complete set onto the table, now at 4.

"Now what about-," began Aiko before being interrupted by me.

"Huh? Who could be messaging me?" I said when a message notification popped up. I pressed the blue button and a window opened, showing a message from Agil.

_Hey, Shikai, Agil here. I just wanted to let you know that I sold the shop back on the fourth floor because the eighth floor just got opened up. I'm setting up shop there in one of the blacksmith shops. It's almost twice the size of the old one! Come visit sometime soon, I'll be done and set up by 3pm._

I read through the whole message and then glanced at the time. It was one right now. If I left now, I could probably make it just after three.

"Shikai?" said Aiko, catching my attention. "What's the message about?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I made a friend back on the fourth floor that I met by chance. He said that he's moving his shop to the eighth floor and that I should pass by if I get a chance," I explained. Aiko's mood dropped a bit when she heard the last part and I cocked a brow. "What's up?"

"Hm? N-Nothing, nothing," said Aiko, trying to hide her more saddened expression.

"Come on, Aiko, remember what we promised. We support each other, now spill," I said, leaning on the table towards her.

"…Well…if you're going to visit your friend…then we have to part ways, right?" said Aiko, glancing up at me from behind her silver bangs.

So she thought I was going to leave her? I think I might die of how adorable that was.

"Aiko, do you want to come with me to meet my friend?" I asked, eliciting a bright smile from Aiko. She nodded, sharply, and I grinned at her. "Well then, we better get ready."

* * *

Aiko and I had packed up our things (figuratively of course) and got prepped to go to the eighth floor to see Agil's new shop. We made it to the Teleport Gate by 3, as I had predicted, and got in, being engulfed by the familiar blue light within seconds.

The blue light faded and the scenery had changed to that of the eighth floor. Aiko and I looked around and saw the interesting landscape. The ground around the teleport gate was all wooden planks and the air was muggy. I looked further out from the small city of wooden huts and gaped at the enormous mangrove trees that littered the floor. There were wooden paths that connected to the trees and it spread out into the thick brush. The mangroves towered, looking as if they caressed the bottom of the ninth floor. The light was faint, only enough to see but most was muffled by the wide leaves of the mangroves.

"Wow," said Aiko in awe. I only nodded in agreement, my eyes still wide as I looked over the floor. We walked over to one of the paths and I peered over the edge of the planks to find water in all directions. It was so deep and murky that I couldn't even see the bottom. I could also see the enormous roots, branching out in large areas, along with fish darting around them.

"This floor is amazing," I said, smiling as I watched the marine life.

"Well, well, if it isn't one of my favorite customers," said someone behind us, causing me to jump and almost fall into the water.

"What the-? Agil!" I said when I turned around and realized who was speaking. "We were just on our way to visit your shop."

"Had a feelin'. I saw you two when I was on my way back from the general store and thought I'd take you to my shop, considering I forgot to tell you where it is," explained Agil, showing the bag of food he was carrying. "Come on, now."

Aiko and I nodded and followed Agil as he led us to shop, reaching it several minutes later. The walk was spent with me explaining what Agil did, also telling her his name, and how we had met.

After we entered his shop, Agil set the bag down on the counter of his shop and glanced at us.

"So…you gonna introduce me to this fine young lady? Seems you already got her acquainted with who I am," said Agil, turning his eyes back to digging through his bag.

"Oh! Sorry about that! Agil, this is Aiko. She's a friend I had made on the floor before I met you again. We ran into each other again and had been playing cards when I got your message," I explained, smiling as I spoke about her. Agil grinned at me when he noticed before turning to Aiko and raising a hand to her.

"Like Shikai told you earlier, the name's Agil. It's a pleasure to meet you, Aiko," said Agil, a large smile on his face. Aiko smiled, brightly, and extended her hand to him, shaking it firmly.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Agil. I hope we can become friends," said Aiko, happily.

"Now, Shikai! Let me show you over to the furnace, you must have some ore to work with. Aiko, mind staying here for a moment in case someone comes in? Don't wanna keep the customers uninformed," said Agil as he threw his arm over my shoulders and dragged me along. Aiko watched us with a confused expression as Agil pulled me into the furnace room.

"Agil, what the hell are you doing?" I asked, when he shut the door.

"Oh, nothing much. I just wanted to ask…you aren't taking advantage of such a beautiful, young, and _innocent_ girl are you?" asked Agil, staring into my eyes with suspicion. I gawked at him. Seriously? What does he think I'm doing to her?

"Agil, I'm not that type of person, on top of the fact that Aiko and I aren't like that," I said, turning away and blushing, lightly, as I said the last part. I could see Agil cocking a brow at me in suspicion and I tried to ignore it.

"Well, as long as you aren't, I guess I have no issues. Though, really? You two aren't like that?" asked Agil, arousing my own suspicion.

"What? Are you hoping to take a crack at her?" I asked, annoyed by the idea for some reason. Agil burst out into laughter and my face contorted in confusion.

"Hahaha! Man, you sure know how to crack me up! No I'm not gonna do that, I've got a wife waitin' for me back home, and I don't think she'd fancy me hittin' on girls here," said Agil, bellowing loudly. I sighed and laughed at how silly a question I had asked and he smacked me on the back. "Don't worry about it, man, I won't steal your woman!"

"W-What! She isn't my-," I stuttered, blushing profusely, causing Agil to laugh again.

"Agil," called Aiko, gaining our attention. "A customer is here. I told them you'd be up in a minute."

"Alright, be up now," said Agil as he began walking up the stairs. He glanced at me and grinned. "Make sure you make lots of good stuff down here. I wanna make some money."

"Tch, get up there, greedy shopkeeper," I teased, causing Agil to chuckle again. He disappeared into the shop and I was surrounded by silence once more. I turned to the furnace. It was bigger than his last one. I should be able to finish much faster.

I opened up my inventory and organized all my ores together. One hundred iron, 47 gold, 63 silver, 55 coal, and 7 of the rare orichalcum (an ore used by the orcs to make powerful weapons). Man, I can make so much stuff with this. I turned to the furnace and began to work, pouring in one gold ore after another, pulling them out of the ingots moulds and placing them on the workbench next to me, stacking them in nice, neat piles.

When I was almost finished with all the gold ore, which took around 20 minutes, I heard the door open and someone walking down the steps. As I turned, I could see Aiko walking down the stairs.

"Hey," she said, simply, as I continued to work.

"Hey," I replied, just as simply, distracted by my work. "Agil doesn't need any more help upstairs?"

"No, he said that business was really slow so I should come down and see if you need help," said Aiko, shyly, as she stood by the pile of gold ingots. "You've been busy."

"I like smithing, so I've spent a lot of time in dungeons mining. It's one reason why my level is higher than most," I said, finishing the last ingot of gold.

"Ah. Is there anything I can help with?" Aiko asked, probably bored and feeling useless. I set the last gold ingot down on the pile and thought for a moment. There wasn't any way I was going to make a girl move all these ingots. My chivalrous nature won't allow it. So then what…AH!

"I know! I usually sell a quarter of my ingots to Agil at a third the price. If you could, could you please find out how much each type is going for and find what a third of it is? That way, when I finish, we can get a quarter of the ingots and sell them to Agil," I explained. Aiko processed what I said and nodded, sharply.

"I can do that! I was an accountant during my first couple years of college to help pay for my classes," said Aiko, happily. She ran upstairs and left me to myself, appearing 15 minutes later, in which time I made 17 steel ingots, and wore a large smile. "Okay! Agil gave me the prices!"

"Thanks! Now we just have to wait until I'm done," I said before continuing to work.

* * *

Almost an hour and a half later, I finished the last silver ingot and was finally done with all the smelting. _Two hundred and seventeen _ingots. Holy crap.

"So…you have to give Agil 54 ingots, and I suggest the gold, since you can't really make any armor or weapons from it and then give 7 silver for the last few," explained Aiko, going through some kind of list of the prices of the metals and their uses.

"Hm…that's true. Alright, I will! Thanks for your help Aiko! I really appreciate it," I said, happily, causing Aiko to blush a bit from the praise, muttering out an 'It was nothing…'. "Hey, you haven't really upgraded your armor, right? I plan on making armor with these ingots, I'll make you a set as thanks."

"W-What?! You don't need to do that, I mean…I did that because I wanted to, you don't have to reward me," said Aiko, sheepishly.

"I know, but I really want to," I said, beaming, happily, at her. Aiko blushed and muttered out an 'Okay' before I turned to work. I ended up making her a full set of steel plate armor and a special sword out of the orichalcum. The sword had a greenish tinge and was jagged and powerful. It even had an effect of doing double the damage on non-humanoid enemies. Pretty cool if you ask me.

I, on the other hand, made myself steel chain armor, only the gauntlets being plate armor. I decided to make myself a sword which mixed orichalcum and silver together, making a Demonic Orcish Sword which put a curse on the enemy that does poison damage.

"Thank you so much, Shikai!" shouted Aiko, happily, after looking at her reflection once she had her armor on. "I look so cool!"

Aiko leapt at me, hugging me tightly as thanks, and I blushed a deep shade of red, and could feel my heart racing. Aiko pulled away and beamed at me, causing me to smile.

"So? Shall we go exploring?" I asked, trying to distract myself.

"Yes!" she shouted, eagerly.

* * *

_**So? What did you guys think?**_

_**I don't know why, but my little adventures with Aiko always turn out so happy and bright. I mean, I guess that's how I am with girls in real life so I'm not surprised that it's similar.**_

_**Anyways, Review and let me know what you guys thought about the new atmosphere and any ideas you have for the future.**_

_**OH! One last note. I had just noticed but I completely failed on making the 7th floor canon. I hadn't noticed that the 7th floor was supposed to be a Monster Arena, but I guess it isn't TOO bad. That kind of scenery wouldn't have really worked for what I had written anyways.**_

_**Now, before I ramble more, until next time...byeee :D**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Hey guys MT here!**_

_**I. Am. So. Extremely. Sorry!**_

_**I got SO backed up with crap to do because of all my procrastination. I waited until the last minute to do FOUR projects for my classes AND I had to do make-up work AND I had some tests and it's just been a bloody nightmare.**_

_**Good thing, though, is that you'll be getting a double chapter today to make-up for the last two weeks!**_

_**Anyways, ENJOY!**_

**_UPDATED 7/15/15_**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

"Hey, Agil, we're going for awhile. We're gonna explore the floor a bit and will be back tonight, wait up for us," I said as Aiko and I entered his shop through the furnace room door.

"Alright, man. Don't forget to sell me those ingots!" said Agil, speaking louder when he saw us walking towards the door. I held the door open for Aiko and, as she went through it, grinned at Agil and waved to him before following her out the door.

"Soooo, what are we going to check out first?" asked Aiko, curiously, the childlike curiosity beaming from her eyes. I opened up my menu and looked at an image of the map which had a small amount of info on it, things like locations of towns, the shape of the floor, and any notable locations. I picked a spot at random and found that there was some kind of watchtower midway to the edge of the floor. I felt Aiko peek over my shoulder to look at where I was pointing and I was sure she wanted to know.

"This watchtower is probably run by bandits. If we go we might find something nice in the chests and, since the floor just opened, no one should have touched it yet. If we go now we could probably get there, clean it out, and get back by 11pm," I explained, receiving nods of understanding from Aiko every once and awhile. I glanced at her with a worried expression, not sure if she was ready for fights yet. "Or we could do something else. I don't want to push you into a dangerous situation if you're not ready."

"Shikai…" began Aiko, forcing me to look her in the eye. "I'm ready to go. Just because something bad happened doesn't mean I get to just sit around and do nothing dangerous. I want to move on."

"…Okay, let's go," I said, wearing a small smile. I spun around and began to lead the way, Aiko smiling brightly and skipping beside me, happy she got her way.

* * *

It took us around 2 hours to get to the tower, running most of way, and we stopped to rest a couple yards from the tower.

The tower was old and falling apart. It was made out of gray bricks and towered above us, still coming nowhere near the size of the mangroves that surround it. I could easily see two bandit archers on the top, neither looking human.

"Aiko, we're going to have to run through to get inside the tower. Put on the chainmail I gave you in case we can't dodge all the arrows. Once we get inside, I'll cover you while you change into your plate armor," I explained, Aiko nodding at random parts. She opened her menu and did as I instructed before we moved into position to sprint. "Ready…set…GO!"

We both kicked off the ground and ran towards the tower, the guards seeing us when we were only a yard and a half away from the tower. We managed to weave past the few arrows shot at us and we ran into the tower. Both of us skidded to a stop and Aiko immediately entered her menu to swap her armor. I pulled out my blade and prepared for the bandits to arrive, two coming down to attack us.

"RAHH!" I shouted as I slammed my sword into the handle of the enemy bandit's war axe. The other attempted to slash at me with their jagged sword. Before I got a chance to even dodge it, Aiko ran in between us and caught its sword with her own. "Well you were quick to change."

"Of course! I'm not going to let you deal with this alone while I take my time!" shouted Aiko before throwing the bandit off her. In the moment of recoil, she slashed at the bandit, slicing right through their leather armor and doing massive damage to it with the effect of her sword.

I performed a similar action, however the enemy didn't recoil. Instead they took a step back and swung their axe at me, which I narrowly avoided, and pierced through their abdomen. The bandit roared in pain and attempted another swing but was unable to complete it as I had swiped my sword while in him and sliced him in half. The last of his health disappeared and he blew up into blue pixels. As I turned away from my kill, I could see Aiko finishing hers as well.

Before I could say anything, though, we heard more bandits shuffling upstairs. I quickly glanced at her and we nodded to each other before carefully going up the stairs. Aiko insisted on going first because she's a tank and could take attacks better. When we made it up there, we found a bandit that looked like an orc and another that looked like an elf, though its face was covered in scars.

They noticed us ascending the stairs and ran towards us, attacking Aiko first. The orc's hammer smashed into Aiko's armor, catching her off guard. I caught her when she fell back into me and stabbed in front of us at the elf that was attempting to slash at us.

"I'm okay, Shikai," said Aiko after regaining herself. She pushed off of me and ran up the remaining few steps, roaring and then stabbing into the arm of the elf. I ran up after her and kept the orc off of her, weaving between attacks, knowing it would be too difficult to take a hit with my sword. I heard Aiko cuss and I, against my better judgment, turned around to see what was wrong and found that the elf had managed to get a stab into the inner elbow, in between the armor plates.

I heard the orc roar at me and I turned, only to be met with a hammer smash to the face. I was thrown back, smashing into the wall of the tower, and I heard Aiko scream my name. I was disoriented from the hit, how sudden it was, and I knew it was completely my fault. I struggled to get up, trying to regain a proper orientation, and I dragged my hand down my face. I peeked between my fingers and glared at the orc who was now making his way towards me.

I don't know about everybody else, but getting smashed in the face with a giant hammer, pisses me off. Especially because I was stupid enough to take my eyes off my opponent.

I roared and swiped upward once it was close enough, slicing off an arm of the orc. The orc staggered and I growled, low and threateningly. I knew Aiko was probably looking at me, because that was the same growl I used when I killed her brother. It means I was pissed and going to overdo it again. And look and behold, I did.

After I cut off the arm of the orc, who by the way had a _lot _of health, I stabbed its other hand, causing it to drop its hammer and then proceeded to cut off each limb, grinning, wildly as I did so. I really need to control my emotions better. Though this game isn't helping much. Before I realized it, I had already killed the orc and was looking for more bandits to kill before Aiko appeared before me, placing her hands on my chest. I glanced at her, eyebrow cocked in confusion at who would be touching me. I realized Aiko was looking at me with a worried expression and I snapped out of my mood almost immediately.

"Shikai?" she asked when my shoulders relaxed and my eyes softened. I lifted my free hand to caress the hand she had on my chest and I smiled at her.

"Thanks," I said, simply, eliciting a relieved smile from her. Our moment lasted only a moment, though, when another bandit appeared from the top floor along with the bandit chief. The bandit chief looked like a regular human but he must have been extremely strong because he was carrying an enormous battleaxe that could probably slice through steel armor in one chop.

Aiko and I moved into battle positions and it only took a moment for us to engage the two. I decided to take on the chief but I promised Aiko I wouldn't get too into it until she got to it. It only took a couple minutes for her to defeat the last bandit and she was at my side to help with the chief.

The chief was fairly easy to dodge because of the slow speed of swinging such a large weapon. Aiko attempted to stab him while I distracted him, I being able to easily dodge with my light armor.

Aiko managed to stab him twice before his attention turned to her and she narrowly avoided being slashed before I sliced the chief in half with one, powerful slash which took out the remaining third of his health. The chief burst into blue pixels and we received a message that said 'Congratulations! You have cleared the Lagoon Watchtower!'

"Yay! We cleared the tower!" shouted Aiko, happily, while jumping up and pumping her fist in the air. I smiled and watched her do a bit of a victory dance before I remembered we hadn't checked out the loot chest at the top.

"Hey, Aiko, let's check out the chest before you start going nuts. There's gotta be some good loot to get," I said, cracking a bright grin at her. She ceased her dance and nodded at me before the two of us sheathed our weapons and began up the stairs towards the chest.

* * *

Aiko and I were just entering town when the large clock in its center struck 11pm.

After we looted the chest, we had inspected the surrounding area for any interesting things and then proceeded to walk back to the village, not really wanting to rush.

"Why don't you go and book us a room at the inn while I meet up with Agil and sell the ingots and armor I made," I said, pointing towards Agil's shop.

"M'Kay! Don't take too long! It's late and it will be good to get an early start," said Aiko, winking at me. I grinned and nodded at her before she ran off towards the inn to book us a room. I watched her disappear into the building and then I began to walk towards Agil's shop. I could see the lights on the second floor, the residential rooms, were on and I climbed up the outdoor steps and knocked on the door.

"Hey! Agil! I'm back!" I shouted, hoping he would hear me. I could hear someone trip and curse, loudly, from the other side of the door and a minute later, the door opened.

"Shikai? That you? Man, you sure know how to take your time," said Agil.

"You okay there? I heard something crash," I said, cocking a brow in curiosity.

"Yeah, just tripped over my chair. I was fallin' asleep waitin' for you when you knocked," said Agil, making my roll my eyes and smirk. "Anyways! Come on in so you can sell me your stuff."

I nodded and followed Agil inside, both of us sitting down at the table he had in the middle of his room.

"So, where's Aiko? Thought she'd still be with you," said Agil, calmly.

"She went to find us a room for tonight," I said, casually, causing Agil to give me a look.

"You two are sharin' a room? That's a little suspicious, y'know," said Agil, rubbing his chin and looking at me suspiciously. I blushed, violently, after I realized what he meant by that and I waved my hands in front of me and tried to defend myself.

"I-It's not like that! I don't sleep in the bed, she does! I usually sleep on the floor!" I shouted, nervously. Agil eyed me suspiciously before breaking out into laughter, causing me to laugh, nervously. "A-Anyways, why don't we get through the trade?"

"Alright then," said Agil before I showed him what I had to sell. We went back and forth on prices for a bit, Agil trying to give me low amounts for the armor, and I trying to get reasonable amounts for it. We laughed, we argued, and before we knew it, it was almost midnight.

"Alright, Agil, I'll try to stop by again, soon. Aiko and I will probably go exploring again tomorrow," I said as I waved to Agil and began making my way down the stairs.

"Alright, man. Take care, and remember to take care of that girl. She's pretty cheerful and seems like someone to get into trouble, she'll need someone to protect her," said Agil, a bright smile on his face. I grinned at him and turned back around, throwing a hand up to say goodbye. I heard the door close, but didn't turn, wanting to get to the inn to see Aiko. She'll probably be mad that I took so long after she told me not to. Meh, she's cute when she's mad so I guess I won't be that annoyed.

After entering the inn, I went straight to the innkeeper, who was another player, in order to find out what room Aiko's in.

"Hey, innkeeper. A silver haired girl came in here about an hour ago, name's Aiko. Do you know what room she's in? I messaged her but she didn't answer," I said, leaning on the counter.

"Girl with silver hair? No, none like her," he said, causing my face to scrunch up in confusion.

"Uh…are there any other inns in town?" I asked, becoming a bit worried.

"No, this is the only one. Whoever this girl is, she didn't come here. Though I did have some suspicious characters come in asking for someone named Shikai. Told them I never heard of him but they left a note with me anyways," said the innkeeper, piquing my interest.

"That's me! Where's the note?" I asked, worried by the description being 'suspicious characters'. The innkeeper slipped the note onto the counter and I quickly picked it up and cussed.

_We have Aiko. We'll meet you on the 9th floor in one week. It should be open by then. Look for a hooded figure when you arrive via teleport gate. –PoH_

Who the fuck is PoH!? And why did they kidnap Aiko?! DAMMNIT!

* * *

_**So? What did you guys think?**_

_**I swear on my life that LC is my FAVORITE evil organization for more realistic anime like SAO. Therefore they will be the main villain for awhile.**_

_**Anyways, go ahead and check out the second chapter and Review**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Hey guys MT here!**_

**_Here's the second chapter of the double chapter guys!_**

_**ENJOY!**_

**_UPDATED 7/15/15_**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

Immediately after tossing the note to the side, I asked the shopkeeper how long ago the suspicious people came to drop the note off. He had said 20 minutes before my arrival and I flew out the door in an attempt to search for Aiko or at least one of the suspicious people who took her. I ran around for almost an hour, completely unable to find anyone who knew about them or about what had happened to see Aiko. All I knew was that she had been kidnapped by some unknown group, and I wouldn't be able to see her until a week from now on the 9th floor.

I messaged Agil about ten minutes after I had left the inn, but he hadn't answered. I could only assume that he had gone to bed. I mean, it was late. It's already past one in the morning and I realized that it was too late. Aiko was gone, and I wasn't going to be able to find her until the 9th floor gets opened up.

I was pissed. I knew I shouldn't have left her alone at such a late hour. Whether its IRL or SAO, it's dangerous at late hours to be walking around alone. I shouldn't have left her alone, and now it's my job to get her back safely.

There was no way I was going to be able to sleep that night, so I ran out to search for the dungeon that would lead to the boss room. The floor is new, so no one has gotten a chance to start looking for the boss room. I'm going to have to do it and join the front-liners if I plan on getting to Aiko fast enough.

* * *

It's been two days since Aiko was taken. The morning after, Agil messaged me, shocked to see my message. I explained what happened and the note, and Agil said that he would try to get any info he could from his customers.

We're back in the present and I met up with Agil to find out if he got any info.

"Shikai, I'm sorry but I haven't been able to pick anything up. No one's seen anything and I haven't been able to find out anything about some shady characters, though some people think they might've been PKers," explained Agil. I sat there, staring at him with tired eyes, and his expression moved from serious to worried. "You okay, man? You look spent."

"Hm…? Oh, sorry…I've just been out training a lot and looking for the boss room with the front-liners. I guess I've been overworking myself," I said in an exhausted voice. I slapped my cheeks a few times to perk myself up, knowing it wouldn't really work from the game.

"Shikai…you haven't by any chance, been out on nights, too?" asked Agil, cocking a brow at me in suspicion. I blinked, sleepily, and shook my head as I processed his words.

"Of course…I have to make use of…all my time, so I can save Aiko," I said, my chair suddenly feeling extremely comfortable. Agil stared at me in shock at how seriously I said that and I sighed. "Agil, I haven't slept since I found out Aiko was kidnapped. Not the night she was, not the night after, not last night. I've spent the last days looking for the boss room so that the front-liners and I can beat the boss and get to the next floor."

"Shikai! Aiko wouldn't want you hurting yourself like this. Do you know how bad it is for you to push yourself so hard? On top of that, what if your drowsiness weakened your ability to fight? You could have gotten yourself killed!" shouted Agil, angrily. I studied him with a confused expression, mostly due to his last sentence.

"Agil…I'm level 38 and have high quality armor. The mobs are lucky if they have get me to half health, let alone kill me," I said.

"I don't care, man. You're sleeping, and I'm not letting you leave until you do," said Agil. "A good ten hours."

"But, Aiko! And the boss room," I said, not wanting to waste even a moment in getting Aiko back.

"You've got plenty of time for that. Sleep now, save the beautiful girl later," said Agil, holding up a finger to silence me. I groaned and dropped my head onto the table and Agil sighed. "Shikai, you've really gotta get some sleep, it ain't good for you to- The hell?"

Agil had gotten up, probably to force me to bed, but before he even managed to finish his scolding, my soft snores filled the room. He grinned and picked me up from the chair and dropped me onto his bed before leaving the room to tend to his shop.

* * *

I groaned and slapped a hand to my face, dragging my fingers over my forehead and eyes. I opened my eyes and blinked a few times, wondering what had happened and what time it was. I heard the door open and close and I slowly sat up, supporting myself with my arms.

"Well, well, look who decided to wake up," said Agil, smugly.

"What happened?" I asked, rubbing my face with my hand again.

"When we were arguing yesterday you passed out and I tossed you on my bed so you weren't hunched over," explained Agil. I groaned, annoyed that it had happened there, though it was probably better than in a place where there are a lot of mobs.

"Ugh…how long was I out?" I asked, falling back onto the bed before rubbing my eyes and letting out a loud yawn.

"Mm, 'bout 16, 17 hours. Not surprised you slept so long. You didn't sleep for three days," said Agil, rubbing his chin.

"Dammnit, I have to get back to the dungeon to find the boss room," I said as I leapt off the bed.

"Actually," began Agil, garnering my attention. "The word just got out. The front-liners found the boss room last night. They said that they're gonna send in a squad to get info on it and in two days they're gonna challenge the boss."

"What?! Crap, I'm late. I need to go and meet up with the front-liners and get to planning and-," I began before Agil cut me off by slapping a hand onto my shoulder.

"Shikai. Calm. Down. The assault team put out an announcement that they will hold a meeting tomorrow morning after they get the info from the initial investigation team. You should take time to rest and then tomorrow you can deal with this stuff," explained Agil, pushing me back to look him in the eye. I paused for a moment as I thought of some valid excuse but sighed in defeat when I couldn't think of any.

"Fine…I guess I can relax for one day…but there's no way I'm just gonna sit around. I'll help you in the shop," I said, firmly. Agil smirked and patted my shoulder.

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about! You're gonna make me some nice money, man," said Agil, causing me to roll my eyes and crack a grin.

* * *

The day had been relatively boring and uneventful for me. I shared a few laughs with Agil, stood in the shop for three hours while Agil went mining, and helped a few customers. To be honest, I'm not surprised that there aren't a lot of people coming into Agil's shop. I haven't seen a large amount of people on this floor yet. Well, enough about yesterday. _Today, _I'm on my way to the front-liners meeting. I probably shouldn't call them front-liners while there. It might be seen as rude; after all they are the _assault team. _

As I stepped into the large watchtower on the opposite side of the floor where Aiko and I had fought the bandits, I could already hear someone speaking loudly.

"Alright, everyone! We're gonna start this meeting so we can kick the boss's ass!" shouted a familiar voice which caused the other voices to die down. I made my way to a more open spot near the back, keeping myself relatively unnoticed, and realized that the one who had shouted had been Kibaou. It's been so long since I had last seen him. He, apparently, had taken over leading the front-liners so that they could remain somewhat organized and better clear the boss rooms.

"Everyone! Leader Kibaou is going to speak about everything that we've learned from the investigation squad and good strategies! If you have any ideas, save them for the end," said one player next to Kibaou, who I could only assume was a lackey. Everyone in the room's eyes flew towards Kibaou and seriousness overtook the players' faces.

"Okay, guys. The investigation squad from my ALS guild checked out the boss's room. You all know that the labyrinth is a ridiculously fat tree which is located nearby, which is the reason why we're having this meeting here. The boss that they discovered there is called Shakra the Cobra King. He is, as you might have thought, a giant cobra. It's purple with a red pattern on its back and has enormous fangs and a razor sharp tail which it uses to attack. Every ten minutes, it spawns 4 Cobra Knights which are low level cobras, around the height of one and a half boars, and wear a few pieces of armor. They also attack with sharp tails. One of the squad had been bitten by Shakra and had to be rescued by the rest of the team members because he was paralyzed, meaning that Shakra can paralyze you if you get bitten," explained Kibaou as he read off a report. People groaned when they heard the last part and it was probably because people knew that they'd either have to buy several Antidote crystals, which aren't cheap, or one expensive 60 minute antidote potion that would cure you and keep you from being affected by status problems.

"Yeah, yeah, I get that you all don't wanna have to waste a crap-ton of money on antidote stuff but, unless you wanna die, you don't really have a choice. Anyways…" continued Kibaou. I didn't really put a whole lot of focus into what he was saying. The snake would probably be fast, so we would need to have a wall of tanks up front and then small groups to circulate out, hit the boss, and dive back behind the tanks to keep from taking much damage. Pretty simple. The snake knights could also be easily taken out. Nothing too difficult for these guys. "Also, you _need _to be in a party of three in order to participate in the boss fight. If you don't have at least three, you're out. Last boss fight, some of the parties with less than three players took too much damage and I don't need any of you guys dying."

_Shit. _I don't know anyone else here! How the hell am I gonna find a group of three?! I began to look around, a bit panicky, until I noticed someone familiar. I saw that guy with the black coat in the back, all alone. What was his name, again? Crap, it was K-something, Kiriko? Kilien? Kiri-, Kiri-…Kirito! That was it! I wonder why he isn't looking for a partner, though. Whatever, I need one so he'll have to do.

I squeezed past the pairing up groups and attempted to reach him, getting close just as I saw a girl with chestnut hair walk up him. His girlfriend? No, he averted his eyes and sighed as if annoyed she was there. I came into hearing range and could hear them speaking.

"Come on, Kirito! We need partners for this and you aren't looking for anyone. Let's be in a party again for the boss fight," complained the chestnut haired girl who looked familiar.

"Asuna," began Kirito. Ah! Asuna, she was in his party on the first floor, now I remember her! "I told you to keep away from me or people will get suspicious of you. I don't want people to think you're a beater, too. Either ways, he said three per party and no one else will join me knowing I'm a beater. Just go and join one of the other groups."

So they need one more person? Yes! Here's my chance.

"If you two need a third party member, I'm not in any party," I said, bringing attention to myself. Asuna spun around to look at me and smiled before turning back around.

"See, Kirito! He can join us and then you can't complain!" said Asuna, happily. Kirito rolled his eyes and groaned, unable to believe I would join him.

"You know I'm a beater, right?" said Kirito while glaring at me, probably trying to scare me off. I wasn't going to be bothered by something like that; I have someone I need to save.

"I don't really care. You just know a lot about the game, right? Too much knowledge is never a problem," I said, confidently. Kirito eyed me for a moment and sighed in defeat. He sent Asuna and I party requests and we were quick to hit the small blue button.

"Is everyone done partnering up?" asked Kibaou over the conversations. I watched a couple people leave due to the lack of numbers for another three-man party before Kibaou began again.

"Alright, you guys know what types you are and should plan accordingly. I told you the kind of strategy we need to win so get yourselves organized and I'll make any adjustments tomorrow. Until then, get rested and get prepared. DISMISSED!" shouted Kibaou. Everyone except our party pumped their fists in the air roared in anticipation before everyone began to funnel out.

"Alright, if you two are going to be in my party, I need to see your skills, find out what weapons and armor you have, and your fighting style," said Kirito as he pushed himself off the wall. Asuna and I nodded and followed him out of the room and then the three of us moved towards the labyrinth to show Kirito our fighting styles. Before we did, we stopped outside and sat on some fallen, and rotting, logs to inform each other of our stats and gear.

Asuna went first, listing off her light armor, rapier, and some other items. It was my turn now.

"I'm level 38," I began before listing off a few of my combat stats. I then proceeded to speak about my armor and weapons. "I have a reinforced steel chain piece, steel plate legs which have the special effect of protecting me from ranged attacks from enemy monsters, steel-plated leather boots, leather, fingerless gloves, a cloak called the Cloak of Alucard which cuts my presence in half making it easier to sneak, and I have a Demonic Orcish Sword which puts a curse on anything I slash that does poison damage," I explained. Asuna and Kirito both stared at me like I was crazy with the kind of things I had and I cocked a brow in confusion. "What?"

"That's some pretty good stuff. Your level is higher than most, even me," said Kirito. I shrugged.

"I make my armor myself and I have to mine everything. All the good ores are in more dangerous locations so I have to fight while I mine in order to get everything. Though I did gain three levels in the last three days," I said, sheepishly, not trying to show off.

"What?! How could you do something like that in such a short time? It just gets harder to level up as you do," said Asuna, jumping out her seat. My expression turned somber as I remembered why I had been training for two days straight with no sleep. I saw Kirito grab Asuna's arm and shake his head, causing Asuna to frown and sit down.

"Anyways, let's go in and see each other's attack styles so we can plan our attack strategy," said Kirito as he lifted himself from his seat I nodded and Asuna and I followed him into the labyrinth.

* * *

_**So? What did you guys think?**_

_**Kirito and Asuna finally make a comeback! Thanks to CuriousReader for giving me the ideas for the parts after this section (Which is the reason why I wrote this part anyways).**_

**_Did I make myself too amazing? I don't use Sword Skills so I feel like alot of players would be shocked or amazed at that._**

**_Well, Review to let me know and until next time...byeee :D_**


	12. Chapter 12

_**Hey guys MT here!**_

**_I'm sorry I'm a bit late. I don't want to give excuses but there was a massive forest fire in the forest next to my house and they cut the power for safety reasons. The fire started yesterday, when I was planning on posting this, and has continued today. I'm posting this now before the power dies again but they said the fire died so it shouldn't._**

**_Anyways, I ramble, ENJOY!_**

**_UPDATED 7/15/15_**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

It only took a few minutes for Kirito to lead Asuna and I to a point where there were plenty of mobs to fight. Asuna was first and I was amazed by her speed. She expertly jabbed at the enemies with her rapier using her Sword Skills. She took out 3 mobs in minutes and I was grinning in elation that we had such a speedy fighter. She could easily do some massive damage to the serpents if she could keep up her speed.

Next up was Kirito. As he walked towards a group of five of the mobs, he pulled out his steel long sword from its scabbard, which was attached to his back, and he stretched his arm and the sword out to the right of him. When the mobs noticed him, they all charged him one after another and he quickly activated a Sword Skill and proceeded to slash each of them, making a 6 hit combo. Asuna and I stood there amazed, as we watched Kirito expertly dodge the enemy attacks and use Sword Skills to deal massive damage before we watched them blow up into blue pixels one after another. He breathed out a long sigh before re-sheathing his sword and making his way over to us. We waited until more monsters spawned and then it was my turn.

"Alright, let's see what you've got," said Kirito, grinning at me before I went over to the monsters. As I approached, I slid my cloak out of the way and gripped my scabbard, pushing the sword ever so slightly out of its container. I continued walking towards the monsters at a quick pace and could hear Asuna and Kirito speaking behind me.

"Why isn't he pulling his sword out?" asked Asuna.

"He must have a special way of fighting. If he needs help, then we can be there in a few seconds so there's no problem," reassured Kirito. I glanced back at him and could see the serious look in his eyes. He knew that I must have been strong if I was approaching without my sword drawn. I turned back towards the enemies, which had now noticed me, and my right hand found the handle of my sword.

The monsters were closing in on me and I could feel the familiar preparation of the game for me to unleash a Sword Skill. Tch, like I've used any for the last few floors. The monsters were right in front of me now and I quickly drew my sword and, in one quick motion, swiped at the monsters. Two of the 5 leapt back from my attack and one blocked it with their sword, however, the remaining two weren't so lucky. I had managed to cut into them, cutting their health down by a quarter and then I watched as the curse of my blade sapped some more of their health.

"Without a Sword Skill?" said Asuna, probably not realizing how loud she had been speaking. I smirked and continued my attack, keeping the speed of my swipe and twisting my body to redirect it in an upward slash. I knocked the sword of the blocking monster away and pierced it through its chest before swiping outward, wiping out all the health of the monster and killing it. My sword continued until I grazed another before I had it blocked. I glanced to the side and watched as another came at me, its sword poised to pierce me. I jumped out of the way, letting the monster's stabbing attack pierce into the monster that had been blocking my attack. The monster took a large amount of damage and both turned towards me. I grinned at them but cussed when I remembered the other two who had made their way behind me.

In order to deal with the four monsters closing in on me from all directions, I quickly remembered the attack style I had used once against a pack of wolves. When the monsters were just close enough, I ducked below their four swords, causing the four swords to crash together and then I spun on the ground while extending my sword. The attack sliced off the legs of the monsters, causing them all to fall the ground.

The monsters all flailed around, attempting to attack me. I grinned before wiping them all out by slicing deep enough to kill off their health. It's been awhile since I got to let loose a bit against so many monsters, but I'm not here to have fun. This is just more training to prepare for saving Aiko.

The monsters burst into pixels when I killed them and I slipped my sword into its scabbard before wandering back to Asuna and Kirito.

"Wow! You killed them all without a single Sword Skill! Were you studying swordplay IRL or something?" asked Asuna, amazed by my lack of use of one of the most commonly used things in SAO.

"Not really, but I've always loved watching swordplay. I've watched a lot of series which involved swordplay, a lot of series about ancient styles of swordplay, and such. When I got into SAO, I began to try out all the things I had seen and got used to it pretty quickly. I've only ever used Sword Skills a handful of times," I explained, sheepishly. I wasn't trying to brag, I just loved swordplay. It looked so cool.

"So then everyone in our group is a frontal attacker. It means that all of us are going to jump out and attack the boss," explained Kirito. "It might be good to get some regeneration potions that have a long last effect so that we can keep attacking without worrying about healing up as often."

"That sounds good. I have a few but I might get a couple more," said Asuna. "So we meet the rest of the assault team in the meeting place from earlier?"

"Yeah, we'll meet them there. Get some rest and get your stuff together and we'll meet up again tomorrow," explained Kirito. Asuna and I nodded and I watched them go into town, arguing a bit as they left. I smiled as I remembered when Aiko and I were on our way back into town on the fourth floor.

"I have to find her…" I said to myself while staring off into the distance.

* * *

**_The next day…_**

Today's the day.

Asuna, Kirito, and I met up at the place earlier than most of the people; I arrived earlier than even them. Not too surprising, the anticipation kept me up.

Kibaou had shown up not long after Kirito and Asuna, giving a pissed off look in Kirito's direction. So he's still on about that 'beater' thing?

The meeting went rather quick and we were on our way to the boss's layer in no time, arriving there at around 2:30pm.

I could feel the tension in the air as people made their final preparations to enter the boss room. I shouldn't be surprised. This is a room where you face enemies stronger than any monster in either the current floor or any below. I could imagine the adrenaline rush from the fear of death.

"Alright you dumbasses! Are you ready to beat the boss today?! We're all gonna get out of this battle together and get up through one more day to the end of this damn death game!" shouted Kibaou while pumping his fist in the air. People roared cheers and Kibaou spun around and pushed the large, wooden doors open.

We all funneled into the room and I got a good look at it before the boss fight began. It was an enormous wooden room with what looked to be a dark spruce. There were decorated pillars scattered around the room and had designs of snakes curling up them and stars. In the center of the room, there was an enormous steel, square plate raised above the ground. Four gargoyles that were being choked by snakes stood at the four corners and at the center of the square was probably the most focused on thing in the room.

There, curled up in an enormous pile, was the largest snake I've ever seen. It looked to be 50…no 60 feet long, around four feet in diameter. Its horns branched off from the top of its head and split off like antlers. It snored, loudly, and everyone tip-toed towards it. When we reached a certain distance from it, torches, that I couldn't see, lit up on top of the heads of each of the gargoyles. The snoring halted and we all froze, Kibaou standing in front with his sword drawn and ready. Everyone else pulled their swords from their scabbards, as did Kirito, Asuna, and I.

The enormous snake lifted its head while opening its eyes and stared at us with almost a confused expression. Then, Kibaou took another step forward, and the snake hissed so loud it was almost a roar. The boss battle started and four Cobra Knights spawned. I gaped a bit when I saw the 5 health bars appear next to the boss's name and flinched when I remembered that horrible memory from floor 2 with the vampire from that quest.

"This is your first time facing a boss since the first floor, right? They're not that bad as long as you're careful. Stick close and stay on your toes," said Kirito, causing me to glance at him. Did he see my reaction? Seems kind of funny…a teenager consoling an adult. The complete opposite of how it's supposed to be.

"Everyone! Here he comes! Tanks to the front; form a barrier! The rest of you will go out and flank 'em!" shouted out Kibaou, causing people to run around to their proper positions. I watched the boss, glancing back to Kirito and Asuna. They were watching the boss, too, probably watching its attack patterns and movement.

Shakra the Cobra King smashed into our tanks, pushing the line back a bit from the impact. They were quick to move forward again and grunted when the snake slashed at them with its tail which almost looked like a giant blade. I watched as some groups fought the Cobra Knights to keep them away from us and some others flank Shakra from the sides. The snake hissed and attacked the enemies, our attackers just barely able to block the attacks to minimize damage.

"Our turn, come on!" shouted Kirito before he sped off towards the enemy. Asuna and I followed suit and, when we hit the defensive line, two of the tanks moved to the side to let us through. Shakra turned its attention to us when the other group receded behind the defensive line. We split up, I on Kirito's left, Asuna on his right. Kirito took the attack that Shakra had aimed at us and he blocked it, expertly. "Asuna, switch!"

Asuna didn't miss a beat as Kirito leapt out of the way, leaving the cobra's tail to smash into the ground creating a small dust cloud. Asuna used it as a cover and suddenly pierced through, shooting out a large number of attacks, all of which hit Shakra. I glanced at its health and noticed that Asuna's attack managed to knock off the last of its health of the first bar, the rest of which had been taken care of by the other groups.

"Switch!" shouted Asuna as she bounced away, narrowly avoiding an attack. I leapt forth, running towards Shakra. I wanted to do as much damage as possible to it so I ran towards its tail, which was piercing into the ground, and stuck, from its last attack. I quickly ran up its tail, carefully watching where I stepped, and, once close enough, managed to reach its face. I swiped and created a gash on its snout, causing it to hiss in pain. I leapt back down and stabbed its tail for good measure before I heard someone shout 'Look out'. I turned and could see the snake's face was coming towards me, teeth ready to bite. Before I could react, Kirito used a Sword Skill to slash at its head, causing it to forget about me and go towards Kirito. I pulled my sword out and pierced into a different part of its tail bringing its attention back to me. Then Asuna joined in and attack from its back.

The three of us continued our assault from different sides for a couple minutes or so before the snake had finally had it. It yanked its tail free and, in one fell swoop, swiped at all of us. I was the first and managed to block most of the cut with my sword, the rest with my armor, and I was knocked off my feet with the blow. The cut dug into my armor and took me with it before I smashed into Kirito, and then he into Asuna. Shakra then threw us away, causing us to smash into the defensive lines.

"You guys alright?!" shouted one of the tanks.

"Don't just stand there, dumbasses! Bring them behind the line!" shouted Kibaou. The tanks dragged us in and we sat on the floor for a moment as we tried to calm down. "Good job with that strategy. The snake's AI was having trouble keeping up with all the random attacks and you guys took out almost half a health bar. Rest up for a bit."

I nodded and Kirito and Asuna sat there, rubbing various parts of themselves which were probably hit by the impact. I was more fortunate since I wear heavy armor; however I still took the most damage. Kirito was down less than a quarter, Asuna around the same, and I was down over a third, probably since I took the brunt of the cut.

"That idea was crazy and dangerous," complained Kirito, causing me to glance up at him. "But it was good. Get your health back up so we can take this thing down."

I smiled and nodded at him before pulling a potion from my pouch. It was a 20 minute regeneration potion that doubles my health regeneration. I chugged it down and then glanced over to the Cobra King. Players were fighting it in waves and doing massive damage to it, but it was still taking awhile. We'll have to get back in there soon. I need to finish this quickly. Today is the 7th day since Aiko was taken. I have to save her soon, or risk losing her forever.

* * *

_**So? What did you guys think?**_

_**This will be my first boss fight since the first floor but I plan on actually writing it out now.**_

_**I had designed this boss to be similar to the boss in New Aincrad which is a flaming snake instead of a poisonous one. I hope you guys liked the idea :D**_

_**Also, please Review and let me know what you thought about the battle and if you think anything seems out of bounds for SAO. I'll happily fix it!**_

_**Anyways, until next time...byeee :D**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Hey guys, MT here!**_

_**Sorry I'm so late. It's been a bit hectic after my grandmother's house was broken into. She's okay but, as you'd expect, she's pretty shaken up so I haven't had a lot of time to write.**_

_**Anyways, enough depressing stuff.**_

_**So, the boss fight continues this chapter and it will be the last before I finally go to save Aiko! Look forward to it!**_

_**Anyways, ENJOY!**_

**_UPDATED 7/15/15_**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

I just got back up to full health and it's been 10 minutes. I'm half way through the time limit for my 20 minute potion. The groups that have been attacking Shakra just broke it down past its second health bar and are working on shaving off its health.

"Kirito," I began, grabbing Kirito's attention. "Should we go in again? If we are, I don't think the same strategy will work."

"I know. We should just try switching often to throw off its AI. If we get it down to its last bar it should change its attack pattern like the other bosses do so we have to be careful," explained Kirito. I nodded, remembering how Illfang had changed his weapon and attack style back on floor one.

We turned back to watch the boss, watching how it continually swiped at its enemy. Our fighters were pretty good. We hadn't lost anyone yet which showed how careful and how strong everyone was. I might come back to help during a boss fight again…if I can get over the stress.

"Hey! You guys back up to health? We need to give some of the other groups time to heal," shouted Kibaou. Kirito nodded and we all rose and walked out of the defensive line. I matched Kirito's calmer pace, hoping he had some idea. Shakra watched us, not coming near. He probably thought our slow pace meant we were going to try something.

I glanced at his health. He's down by 2 ½. Halfway.

When we were close enough to Shakra, I saw Kirito's hand twitch. I didn't think anything of it until he did it again. I noticed that he was signaling me. I veered off to the right, where he was directing me, and walked in a huge arc, perpendicular to our original course. Asuna made a similar path when Kirito directed her to the left. He must want us to attack at the same time from three sides to throw it off long enough for another strike before we start the switching.

We were almost there, and then suddenly, Kirito roared out and kicked off the ground, running towards the giant snake. Asuna and I mimicked him, running with all out might. We all collided on the snake at the same time, who was disoriented from the many attacks coming in on the same time. Kirito swiped at it with a Sword Skill, Asuna's being her many stabs, and I pierced it with my sword and twisted it, causing massive damage.

"Get back!" shouted Kirito, causing Asuna and I to jump back. As I had predicted, and most likely how Kirito had as well, the snake _had _become disoriented from so many attacks and was frozen in place. This allowed Kirito to perform a 3-hit combo before he leapt back and away from Shakra. "Shikai, switch!"

I roared as I rushed the giant snake, sword poised for a slash. When I was close enough, I swiped at its flesh, taking out another chunk of its flesh. It roared in pain and was quick to slash at me with its tail, which I caught with my sword.

"Asuna! Go in for some stabs while I have its tail!" I shouted. Before I finished, Asuna was already rushing towards the snake's huge body. She pierced it with as many strikes as possible until the beast had finally managed to push me back. I rolled away from it and managed to catch myself before rolling to the side, away from an attack. "Kirito, switch!"

Kirito was quick to replace me before repelling an attack previously meant for me. I gaped at how he was able to repel such a powerful attack but quickly regained myself as I watched Kirito slash the snake in the end of its tail and run towards it, the sword still piercing the enemy. When he needed to dodge an attack from its head, he leapt aside and just barely managed a Sword Skill boosted strike to its eye, knocking out the last of the third health bar and dipping into the fourth.

"Hey, you three! You've done enough, the other teams are healed enough!" shouted Kibaou. I glanced at Kirito and he nodded, answering my mental question of 'Should we go?'. The other teams were quick to replace us, catching attacks aimed for us while we were retreating towards the defensive line. "Good job, you all. We'll need you rested. You two have good heads on your shoulders so you'll probably be the best when this boss goes rage mode on our asses," said Kibaou, pointing to Asuna and I. He then jabbed a thumb at Kirito and wore a disgusted expression. "I don't know about this bastard, Beater, though."

I rolled my eyes at his comment, not really caring. Kirito seemed to have the same reaction, though Asuna seemed a bit bothered by it.

Kirito, Asuna, and I made ourselves comfortable, watching the bosses moves and health. The other groups were more efficient than we were at confusing the boss, probably because two teams went out at once for them instead of just us. They were also quick to drop the boss's health. After some time, the boss's health was just below half on his last bar and Kirito shot up.

"Kibaou!" said Kirito, suddenly. "He's about to go into his berserker mode. If you wanted us to go out, now's the best time."

Kibaou looked at Kirito with an annoyed expression. He knew he was right, probably just annoyed Kirito beat him to the punch.

"Hey! Fall back and heal guys! We're going into the final stages!" ordered Kibaou. The groups funneled back one after the other and it was time for us to go out again. Just before the last group retreated, Kirito bolted out from the defensive line, Asuna and I hot on his trail. Shakra was just about to attack one of the retreating fighters when Kirito smacked him away with a Sword Skill.

"Switch!" shouted Kirito. Both Asuna and I attacked Shakra from different directions, both attacks successful. Asuna bounced back and I took my attack to the next step, stabbing into his body and forcing all my strength in order to swipe outward. I took out a big piece of his health by doing so and I grinned.

"Switch!" I shouted, causing Kirito and Asuna to perform the same tactic Asuna and I performed prior. I was then called back with another 'switch', causing me to try a fury attack on the giant snake. I got in almost seven hits before Shakra attacked me and I leapt out of the way. I attacked once more and managed to stab it just right, taking a chunk of its health and throwing it just below a third of its final bar.

Almost there! I'm almost there, Aiko. Almost to finding you.

"Shikai! Look out!" shouted Asuna in almost a screech. My eyes refocused and I looked up just quick enough to see the blade on Shakra's tail morphing as it flew towards me. It transformed into an enormous chunk of metal, almost looking like a sharp mace, and smashed into me. I coughed up saliva as the mace tore into my armor and smashed me in the gut. If this was the real world, I'm pretty sure I would have died on impact. In the few moments where the mace was smashing into me, I could just barely see Asuna and Kirito's horrified faces. It wasn't for long though. I was shot back from the sheer force of the blow and flew upward, smashing into the roof, causing me to cry out in pain. I released my sword as I fell from the roof, falling unconscious in the process, and only remembered hearing my sword crash to the ground before I was out.

I wonder…did I die?

* * *

Is that…metal clanking on metal? Swords? Shields? Wait…didn't I die? I couldn't be alive after taking such a hit. I even remember seeing my health hit the halfway mark after that snake hit me. Along with hitting the roof and falling I shouldn't have any health left.

But…I can hear these sounds…and I can see the faint glow of cursors shining through my eyelids. The way it does to let me know people are nearby when I have my eyes shut.

"Unh…" I groaned as I felt a surge of pain. I fidgeted and heard some gasps around me. I blinked my eyes open and cleared them of the initial fogginess before looking around. Before me was a man with dark brown hair that spiked up to the left side of his head. He had a toned skin color and a small brown beard that formed a triangle on his chin.

"Gave us a right good scare there, mate," said the man in a distinctly Australian accent.

"Who…?" I began as I tried to sit up. As I did so, I glanced at my health and noticed I was almost at full health with an icon that said I was regenerating.

"Name's Bradley, well in this game anyways. I ain't telling ya ma real name. That'll be for any of the beautiful ladies around," said who I now know to be Bradley, grinning while saying the last part. I cocked a brow at him, curious by what an Australian was doing in this game. "Ah, ma accent rubbing ya the wrong way? If yer wonderin', I ain't an Aussie. I'm from the good ol' USA! Ma Pa and Ma are from there so I got their accent. I came to Japan fer some program in ma high school and now I'm stuck in this mess!"

"Well, I'm sorry that your first trip to Japan turned out so bad. What happened?" I asked, confused by what was going on.

"Ah! 'f course ya'd be curious. Well, when ya hit the ground yer health was nearly at zero so I jumped over 'n' used a regeneration potion on ya. You've been out for 'bout 10 minutes," explained Bradley. I stared down at the ground as I processed this. I had almost died. I began to laugh, joyous that I actually lived until my attention was snapped back.

"The boss! What happened with it? Kirito and Asuna were fighting it," I said, suddenly, causing Bradley to fall back from his kneeling position and on to his ass.

"Woah, mate. Ya gotta calm down. A bunch of the groups leapt out to help 'em after ya got knocked out and they all ganged up on it. They're 'bout to…oh they finished," said Bradley as he looked out at the boss, watching it freeze and burst into blue pixels as he spoke. I stared, wide-eyed. I couldn't believe everyone just attacked it all at once. "Well, guess it's time to move on. Hope to see ya again, Shikai."

"Yeah…" I said, not looking at him. I heard him jump to his feet and walk away before I finally tried getting up. I walked over to the large group of players cheering and I smiled when I saw Asuna and Kirito cheering. I watched them for a moment, seeing the two high five and then Asuna glomp on Kirito before remembering what I had to do. I strut away from the group and began my way to the back of the boss's room where the door leading to the teleport gate was.

Just as I was reaching it, I heard a voice behind me.

"Shikai? What's up?" asked Kirito, causing me to jump. I spun around and saw that Kirito had deviated from the group. "I'm glad you're okay and I saw you walk past the group so I came to see what was up. You look a bit stressed."

"Ah, it's nothing really, just want to get to the next floor and check it out before anyone else gets there," I lied, tried to make it sound believable. Kirito eyed me, suspiciously, and I knew he didn't buy it. I always did suck at lying. "Kirito, there's something extremely important that I have to deal with on the next floor. I need you to let this go."

Kirito stared at me straight in my eyes when I said the last part and I glared at him, hoping it would show how serious I was. He sighed after a moment and spun around.

"Fine. You have me on your friend's list so message me if you need help. Also, don't do anything stupid. Asuna would get sad if one of her friend's got himself killed," said Kirito as he walked back to the crowd. I grinned at him and watched him go before spinning around and going through the giant doors.

Aiko, I'm coming for you!

* * *

_**So? What did you guys think?**_

_**Did you like the new OC Bradley? Shout out to scarfgang1000 for creating this OC for me. I mixed it up a bit to practice my accented speaking since I've never tried it before. I hope you guys like it and if there are any Australians out there, please feel free to message me and give me some tips on how Aussies speak, especially if I got it wrong.**_

_**Review and let me know what you guys think so far and until next time...byeee :D**_


	14. Chapter 14

_**Hey guys MT here!**_

_**So, it's official. You are allowed to murder me for being so late. I'm EXTREMELY sorry that I haven't posted in so long. Between AP tests and my sheer amount of laziness, I just hadn't gotten around to finishing. Because of my ineptitude, I will be posting the last two weeks' chapters today. Hope it somewhat makes up for it.**_

_**Finally hitting the 'Saving Aiko' segment and ending this arc in the second chapter that will be posted today.**_

_**Anyways, ENJOY!**_

**_UPDATED 7/15/15_**

* * *

**Chapter 14**

I entered the teleport gate after the boss fight and began to look around and inspect the floor. The floor had just opened up so the kidnappers wouldn't be here yet. Since I was going to have to wait, I decided to inspect the immediate area a bit, looking at the terrain and town structure.

The floor was interesting and a bit of an extreme difference from the last floor. While the last floor was an amazing swamp with enormous trees and huge amounts of water, this floor was a desert. In the center of the town, just next to the teleport gate, was an enormous fountain which sprayed water into the air. Around the area were sandstone houses that looked like typical desert buildings you'd see in any RPG and in the distance were mountain-like sand dunes that surrounded the city.

I was fascinated. The treasures that could exist in this floor, in the houses, the possible pyramids or secret treasure rooms; the possibilities are endless. It didn't even occur to me that people were already making their way through the gate and I finally noticed when a small crowd began to form around the gate.

Now this was a problem. How easily could I find these people? Would they be cloaked? Would they be looking for me?

My internal panic caused me to look back and forth, searching for any suspicious characters. Look and behold I found who I was looking for in only 10 minutes. There was a man cloaked in a short, dark gray cloak leaning against one of the buildings and I quickly approached him. When I reached him, he glanced at me from under the cloak and I could see the black mask he wore that only allowed his dull blue eyes to show.

"Where's Aiko?" I asked, seriously. He eyed me for a moment and I could almost _feel _the smile that broke out on his face as he saw the worry in my eyes.

"Nice to meet you, too. Follow me. PoH and some others brought her here just after the floor was opened. They told me where they'd keep her," said the hooded man. He pushed himself off the wall and began to lead me away from the gate and towards the edge of town. Part of the way there, I felt someone behind us and I went on my guard a bit before realizing who it was.

Dammnit Kirito…

When we reached the edge of town, the hooded man stopped in front of a small building and knocked in a seemingly random pattern which was likely some kind of password. The door cracked open and I could see an eye appear in the darkness behind the door.

"Name," said the owner of the eye.

"Johnny Black. Let me in Gio," said Black. The eye stared at him for a moment before some laughing came from behind the door, the man named Gio muttering out a 'just messing with you'.

The dark wooden door creaked open and I could see the room really was as dark as it seemed. We wandered into the room and the door closed behind us, leaving me in the dark. I went on the defensive and only tensed more when some blinds were suddenly opened, bringing light into the room.

On each side of me were Johnny Black and the man who I assumed was Gio from his eyes. Across from me was a man with a silvery skull mask and red, crystal eyes along with someone wrapped in a dark cloak. In the middle, directly in front of me, was what I have waited to see.

There was a man in a dark cloak and a visible scar on his cheek and next to him, kneeling on the floor with arms bound, was Aiko.

I ran, I flew towards her, falling to the ground and sliding towards her, only the people next to the man with scar moving in front of him, allowing me to understand he was the leader. That wasn't my concern right now, though.

"Aiko…" I breathed as I cupped her cheeks in my hands and brought her face up to look her in the eyes. Her cheeks were stained with tears and she was trembling, probably in fear.

"Shikai, you came for me," whined Aiko, her voice cracking as she spoke.

"Of course I would. What have they done to you? Are you feeling okay?" I asked, concerned.

"They've kept me locked up this whole time. They haven't done anything; their leader PoH wouldn't let them. He said that if they were going to do something to me, he wanted it done in front of you," said Aiko, her voice cracking a bit as new tears flowed down her cheeks.

I looked up at the man beside Aiko who was looking down at me and grinning in delight at the pained look on her face.

"You're PoH, I take it? Who are you people? Why did you want to see me for?" I asked, angrily. PoH chuckled, lightly, and grinned as he looked down at me.

"I am who you say I am and you should know who we are by now. _We _are Laughing Coffin," said PoH, causing me to tense up and my eyes to go wide. Laughing Coffin? T-They're still appearing in my life? Why? "As to why…well I can't just let what you've done go by now can I? I mean, you did kill three Laughing Coffin members."

"Then why did you have to bring Aiko into this?! You just wanted me, right?" I shouted, angry that they brought an innocent girl into this.

"I want to use her to hurt you. We're all going to go out into the sands nearby and we're going to torture you to death. Then we're going to lock this girl up and remind her about what we did to you every day and you'll watch from heaven as we hurt her, the one you care about," said PoH, sadistically. I could tell how much he would enjoy it from the way he was practically _salivating _from what he was saying.

"How about you let her go and you can torture me every day without killing me?" I suggested, my expression serious.

"No, Shikai! You can't do that just to save me!" shouted Aiko. I didn't flinch as I looked at PoH but he continued to grin at me.

"We'll see. For now, you're coming with us to the planned location, and if I like torturing you enough, I may take you up on your offer," said PoH with an evil grin. I glared at him and he began to walk towards the door, the man with the skull mask walking with him. I helped Aiko up but couldn't untie the rope because the unknown hooded man was right behind me.

We all walked out of the dark building and I followed them in the direction of the desert. It only took a few minutes to get out of town and into the seemingly endless sand outside of town.

They stopped in just a few minutes and turned around before Aiko was kicked forward and away from me. I glared at them as they yanked her towards them and forced her to kneel on the hot sand.

"Now, you're going to bow down to me, on the sand, and we're going to have our fun. If you're lucky, I may take you up on your offer and you'll get to live and this girl will be free, otherwise, be prepared," said PoH with a grin. I continued to glare at him and remained unmoving. "Also, strip off your armor for us."

I growled, low, but did as I was told when I saw one of the LC members near Aiko pull out a dagger. I stripped off every piece of armor so that I was just in my regular clothes which had no armor bonus. I left my sword equipped, just in case, and he didn't seem to care.

"Now bow," commanded PoH. I continued to glare at him as I slowly moved to my knees and placed my hands on the hot sand. My eyes never left his.

"Do it right!" shouted one of the LC members behind me before I felt a sharp kick to my back. I fell into the sand and gritted my teeth as I rose back up before placing my head on the sand. I was furious but I couldn't do anything. Not while they had Aiko.

"Good, now…shall we begin?" said PoH.

I didn't have to look up to know that all of the damn sadists had great big grins on their faces. I also didn't have to look up to know that a sword was coming my way.

I felt a sharp cut on my back. It was shallow but it hurt and I struggled against the instincts I had built up until now that told me to turn around and attack. The attack barely did any damage and I recovered the health slowly, but it didn't keep it from hurting. I hissed when I felt another sword pierce into my foot, the sword going straight through to the other side. Aiko whimpered, probably crying for me since I refused to. My health dropped a bit more from the stab and I could hear light chuckling as I groaned from the soreness of having a sword through my foot.

They yanked the sword from my foot and I felt it in my thigh next and I yelped as I felt it pierce straight through as if nothing was there.

"Hehe, it's always lovely to torture helpless people. Especially when they don't fight back. I wonder, though, how long will you last before you break and beg for mercy?" asked PoH. I glared up at him, my mind screaming to kill him. My thoughts became jumbled, though, when I felt the sword yanked from my thigh and then forced through the side of the same thigh and into the other leg so that both were skewered.

"Agh!" I cried out in pain. I could have sworn I heard Aiko cry out to me but I was too distracted to pay attention. I glanced at my health again. I'm nearly down by a third. I wonder, will they really kill me? Without me ever putting up a fight?

"Now, how's about another one!" shouted another of the LC members. I prepared to be stabbed again but it never came. Instead, I heard the loud smashing of metal on metal which caused me to look up. I saw PoH and the other members in front of me back away, dragging Aiko with them, and I turned around.

I gasped. Kirito was there, blocking the sword of one of the LC members and keeping him back.

"Kirito? I thought I told you to let me go!" I shouted, Kirito replying with only a grin. I then felt the sword yanked from my legs and I winced before looking to see who had done it. "A-Agil?"

"Hey, Shikai. Wish you'd told me Laughing Coffin was involved, I could've helped you with that," said Agil as he helped me up. I gave him a sheepish grin and leaned against him for support.

"I thought I told you to make sure you weren't being followed, Johnny," said PoH, angrily.

"There wasn't anyone in my range. That guy either has a really high stealth skill or a really high tracking skill," said Black. PoH growled at him and then he whispered something to the skull masked member.

"Hold the girl up!" he ordered Gio. The member fighting Kirito also leapt back and assisted him in holding Aiko up. I growled in anger at the fact that they were still going to hurt her and then I almost leapt at them when the skull masked man pierced her body with a dagger.

"If you come any closer we'll kill the girl," said PoH, seriously. I guess he doesn't have confidence that his ragtag team can handle us on their own.

"How about you give us the girl and we call down The Army to shove you in a holding cell for the rest of your game life," said Kirito, slyly. PoH grinned at him, the grin projecting his annoyance, and he slid towards Aiko.

"You know…" began PoH before dragging his fingers across Aiko's chin. "She's quite a beautiful woman. It'd be a shame to kill such a thing. Though, if I felt like it, I could easily have my way with her as well."

"You get your filthy hands off her!" I shouted, angrily. His words reminded me of Sora, though not as obsessed. "I'll kill you if you do anything to her!"

PoH frowned at me, annoyed that I wasn't holding myself back like before. He turned away from us and began to walk away with Johnny Black.

"Do it," said PoH, calmly. I watched as the skull masked man quickly sliced off Aiko's arm, causing it to burst into pixels and her to cry out in pain.

I was seething with rage.

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" I shouted, angrily, about to rush towards them to kill them. Kill all of them. The two LC members holding Aiko dropped her to the floor and ran off with the skull masked man to catch up to PoH. Before I could follow them, Agil and Kirito grabbed my arms and held me back.

"Shikai, let them go, Aiko's safe," said Agil trying to calm me. Kirito said something similar but I wasn't listening. My rage was boiling, killer instincts going wild. I wanted to _murder them _for hurting Aiko. For hurting someone I cared about. They would die and I would enjoy it.

"LET ME GO! I'M GOING TO KILL THEM! I WON'T LET THEM LIVE! I'LL KILL YOU TOO IF YOU DON'T LET ME GO!" I shouted, angrily. I was practically insane. Between holding back as I was being injured, the insanity of working towards saving Aiko, and then watching them take out a chunk of her life and her arm with it. I had lost all rationality and just wanted revenge.

"Shikai," breathed a familiar voice. I hadn't even noticed that Aiko had gotten up and was coming towards me. I was so caught up that I didn't notice the pained expression she had on her face as she watched me shout out in anger.

"Aiko! Help me get out of their grip! I need to get revenge for them hurting you. I'm going to hurt them like they hurt you, like they hurt me. I won't let them walk away!" I shouted, angrily. Aiko stared at me in surprise that I was so desperate to get back at them.

"Shikai, I'm okay. Please calm down. Let's go back," said Aiko, trying to soothe me. It didn't work and I continued to shout out things like 'let me go' and 'I'll kill them' until I was suddenly interrupted.

I felt cool, smooth lips on mine and my eyes widened in shock. I focused my eyes and could see Aiko's eyes pressed shut and her tear stained cheeks. Her lips moved against mine as I remained frozen. Despite that, I could feel all my anger, all my fury, dissipate in only a matter of seconds. My heart jumped and my anger faded away.

"Uh…Well this is awkward," I heard Kirito whisper to Agil. I heard an agreeing 'yup' from Agil and the two released my arms which merely fell to my sides, limp.

I was still frozen as Aiko slowly pulled her lips from mine and she glanced at my eyes, smiling as she saw my dumbfounded expression.

"Shall we go back into town?" she asked me. I nodded, not trusting my voice, and my face remained the same. She giggled and used her only arm to guide me back into town.

* * *

_**So? What did you guys think?**_

_**Was that scene at the end with the kiss weird? I hope it wasn't. I really liked it.**_

_**Review and let me know what you guys thought and remember to check out the next chapter that is coming out today!**_


	15. Chapter 15

_**Hey guys MT here!**_

_**Here's the second chapter guys!**_

_**ENJOY!**_

**_UPDATED 7/15/15_**

* * *

**Chapter 15**

After the incident with LC and finally getting Aiko back, we all reentered town, Aiko guiding me. We didn't bother going deep into town, as we wanted some privacy. Kirito managed to find us a café and we all entered before sitting in the empty restaurant.

Kirito and Agil seemed happy that everything turned out relatively well. Aiko was sitting next to me, watching them order from the NPC waitress and waiting for her turn. Meanwhile, I was still dumbfounded. So much so that I had yet to notice she had yet to release my hand neither the time spent walking back into town nor since we entered the café.

"Shikai?" called Kirito, causing my face to fly in his direction. I stared at him, blankly, and he cocked a brow at me. "You alright, man? You look completely out of it."

I slowly processed his words, trying to break from my frozen state. It was just a kiss Shikai, just a kiss. Calm down and speak.

"Y…Yeah…I'm okay," I finally managed to say, looking away dejectedly as I did so.

"Mind explaining everything that happened? Kirito messaged saying you were actin' funny so I came to see what was going on," said Agil, enlightening me on why he was here.

"…Well, you remember how Aiko was kidnapped last week, right?" I began, Agil nodding as he remembered. Kirito, who had no prior knowledge of this, stared, intently, as he listened. "Well, I had been working hard to get ready to face them. I even fought in my first boss fight since the first floor and nearly died because of it," I continued, feeling Aiko's grip tighten significantly. "When the fight was finished, I immediately came here and waited by the teleport gate before finding a LC member. He took me to the house they were keeping Aiko in. Along the way, I noticed Kirito was following me. It pissed me off because I told him not to get involved but I had a feeling he'd be too stubborn to listen. After I entered the house and reunited with Aiko, we moved on outside where I was going to die to make sure Aiko could live and that's when you two came in like Grade A superheroes."

Agil chuckled at my comparison, causing me to crack a small grin. Kirito, on the other hand, was less than pleased.

"Shikai, you should have asked me to help you. If I had known you were dealing with something like this, I…" said Kirito, his fists clenching on the table. I stared at him for a moment, watching his anger at his lack of assisting me, and I smiled.

"But, Kirito," I began, causing him to look up at me. "You did something better than helping me. You saved me. Saved me from making a horrible mistake that would have added to my sins and haunted me for the rest of my life. Thank you, both you and Agil for doing that for me."

It took Kirito a moment to realize I was talking about PKing and he smiled at me. He nodded, causing me to smile at the fact that he understood.

"Now then!" shouted Agil, catching our attention. He held up his drink, which caused me to realize the waitress had already brought the drinks, and he spoke. "I think we should toast to both another floor cleared and Aiko's safety!"

"Cheers!" Kirito and I shouted while clinking our glasses against Agil's. Kirito and Agil laughed and began to talk like old friends and I glanced at Aiko who hadn't participated in our little toast. She had a sad expression on her face which made me worry. On a good note, her arm seemed to have finally regenerated.

* * *

Before we knew it, the sun was already setting and it was time for Agil to go back to his home and Kirito was going to find an inn. Since Aiko and I also needed an inn, we went with Kirito, bidding farewell to Agil.

"So, you guys probably have a lot to catch up on," said Kirito as he asked for a room in the inn. I merely nodded in reply, a small smile on my face. Kirito glanced down at Aiko and my hands which were still tightly gripping the other. "Well, I leave you two to talk alone. See you tomorrow, Shikai. Take care."

I waved to Kirito as he left and went up to the desk, receiving a dialog box that asked if I wanted to rent a room.

"Aiko, do you want to get separate rooms," I asked her, already knowing she wouldn't want to be alone tonight. She shook her head, harshly, and I smiled, softly. "Wanna share a room?"

Aiko nodded, slowly, and I rented a room for the two of us to share.

We left the counter and I led her upstairs, searching for the room number and finding it at the end of the hall on the right. I had decided to splurge a bit on the room and got one of the larger room which had a king sized bed, a couch, and a large table.

We entered the room and I guided Aiko ahead of me before closing and locking the door behind me then moving towards the bed. I began by sitting her down before I sat next to her myself. She still hadn't let go of my hand, and it was starting to worry me.

"Aiko…?" I asked, looking at her with worried eyes. It took her a moment but she managed to speak.

"Shikai," whined Aiko, her voice cracking. "I was so scared."

"I know," I said to her in a soothing voice.

"I didn't know what they were going to do to me," she said, her voice cracking more.

"You're safe now," I said, continuing to console her. I released her hand before pulling her into my chest and rubbing her back in small circles.

"Despite how afraid I was for myself," began Aiko, her voice sounding serious through the cracks. "I was so scared that they might kill you by using me as bait."

I paused for a moment. She was afraid for me? She was in enemy territory where she could have been murdered, raped, tortured…and she feared for the one outside and safe?

"Aiko," I said, calmly. "Why do you worry about me so much?"

She looked up at me, our faces just inches apart, and peered into my eyes with eyes that made my heart skip.

"For the same reason I kissed you. I love you," said Aiko in a loving tone. My eyes widened bit at said information. I had originally thought that that had been a possibility, but I was in denial and settled on the reason 'It was to pull me out from my blood rage'. Apparently, I shouldn't have put myself down so soon.

"Y-You do?" I stuttered, nervously. Dammnit. Every freaking time. I always get so nervous when it comes to love. Once I'm in a relationship it's like 'I got this' but when I'm trying to deal with love outside of one I become a stuttering retard.

"I do," said Aiko before leaning her face back into my chest. I felt her clench my shirt and she trembled a bit in my arms. "Hey Shikai?"

"Hm?" I replied, already knowing what she was going to ask.

"Can you hold me?" she asked. I answered her by holding her to my chest and her soft cries filled the silent room.

* * *

Aiko seemed to cry for hours, and it absolutely broke my heart. I hate seeing girls cry, more so when it's one I care about.

Around midnight, her sobs seemed to end and I relaxed my grip on her to look at her. Her eyes were red, probably a recreation by the game of what happens when you cry for too long.

"How are you, Aiko?" I asked, hoping she would say she was better.

"Better…thanks for being here for me," said Aiko as she wiped a tear from her cheek.

"Of course I would be. Remember our promise? I'll always be here for you," I said, smiling down at her. A blush shot across her face and she looked away, probably trying to hide it from me. "What's this? A blush I see?"

"W-What are you talking about, Shikai? I'm not blushing," said Aiko, her blush only growing, though I think it was more from embarrassment.

"_Oh no, _that is quite the blush you have on those cheeks of yours," I teased her grabbing one of her cheeks between my thumb and index finger. She muttered out a 'Swop dat' and struggled to pull my hand from her cheek. We continued to mess around, just like before, and I teased her and bothered her for nearly a half an hour before it started to get more physical.

"Shikai…why are you looking at me like that?" asked Aiko who was watching the devious expression on my face. I had just remembered where her tickle spots were and there was no way I wasn't going to use my regained memory.

I knee-walked across the bed towards Aiko, my hands out in front and my fingers tickling the air. Aiko was crawling on the bed, backwards, and away from me before hitting the headboard of the bed. When she turned to look at what she had hit, I took my chance and lunged at her.

I began to tickle the sides of her stomach, which I had long discovered were sensitive to tickling.

"Shikai! No! Stop!" shouted Aiko as she was suddenly thrown into a fit of giggles. My eyes gleamed with mischievousness as I continued to tickle her and she flailed around and struggled to push me away. We hadn't noticed, but it seemed we had been shimmying to the edge of the bed and, with one hard movement, Aiko had caused me to lose balance and I slipped off the edge. While falling, I had grabbed onto the covers in order to keep myself from falling but I merely brought them, as well as Aiko, with me.

We both screamed in surprise as we tumbled to the floor with a loud thump.

"Ow ow ow," groaned Aiko in pain as she rubbed her head. "Shikai, are you o- ?"

I wondered why she had stopped speaking so abruptly and I cracked my eyes open before glancing at her. She had a bright blush across her face and was looking downward so I followed her to find that she was straddling me while my hands were laying on her thighs. I cocked a brow, understanding that it was an embarrassing position but not understanding why she was so embarrassed by it. She must just be too pure.

"S-Sorry!" she shouted, suddenly, before leaping off of me and climbing back onto the bed. "W-Well! I'm going to get changed and get ready for bed!"

Aiko then shot off towards the bathroom and I heard the door shut behind her.

"What was her problem?" I asked myself. I began to get up and pick up the sheets when I had noticed an uncomfortable tightness in my pants. "What is this…? Wait…"

No no no, it can't be that right? I mean it couldn't be.

I glanced back to the bathroom door and then back down towards my pants I slowly pulled the front of my pants to look down into my underwear and I almost had a stroke.

WHY THE HELL AM I HARD?!

Is that why she was so embarrassed? She could feel it?

My mouth twitched a bit and I proceeded to slouch down onto the bed and sheets of tears rolled down my cheeks.

"It's over. She hates me. I have eternally scared her off with my random erection and every time she sees me she will be disgusted by me," I said to myself, thinking I had made it completely awkward between us.

"S-Shikai? The bathroom is free," said Aiko after leaving the restroom. I glanced at her, sheets of tears continuing to stream and nodded before dragging my feet to the bathroom.

I quickly changed and exited to find her lying in bed, already prepared to sleep. Without even thinking, I moved towards the couch on the other side of the room and Aiko called out to me.

"Shikai? Why are you sleeping over there?" asked Aiko.

"Hm? I can't sleep in the same bed as you. I'll just take the couch like I always do," I said, stating our old routine.

"W-Well," began Aiko, her voice nervous. "Y-You can, sleep in the bed, if you want. I mean, since it's so big you don't have to worry about me not having enough room."

My heart fluttered at the idea of being in the same bed as her and my dirty mind went to work creating nice scenarios which I quickly blew away. I took her offer and laid down in the bed, a bright blush across my face as I faced away from her.

"G-Good night," said Aiko before hitting the light switch on her lamp.

"Night," I said, awkwardly, before hitting my own switch. We both laid there and I could only think one thing which I was almost 100% positive she was thinking the same.

_This is awkward._

* * *

**_So? What did you guys think?_**

**_I love making these little scenes where I make it awkward after some harmless playing. I'm a bit of a sadist when it comes to writing these scenes, its just so funny._**

**_Anyways, away from my weird tendencies, Review and let me know what you guys thought and until next time...byeee :D_**


	16. Chapter 16

_**Hey guys MT here!**_

_**Well...looks like chapters are coming out on wednesdays from now on! JUST KIDDING!**_

_**I know I've been really off with the chapters and I REALLY am sorry I've just had a lot on my mind. I'm finally going to college and I have to work out all the scholarship and financial aid quirks on top of looking for a summer job. It's been hectic.**_

_**Well, I hope you like this relatively lax chapter!**_

_**ENJOY!**_

**_UPDATED 7/15/15_**

* * *

**Chapter 16**

**_The next day…_**

"…Ugh…" I groaned as the morning sunlight shined through the curtains, burning my eyes, and pressed a hand to my eyes. I rubbed my eyes and blinked my eyes open before trying to sit up, noticing a weight on my side. "Hm?"

I gasped when I saw something that I hadn't been expecting and blushed, violently. Aiko was cuddled up against my chest, my arm around her waist, and her pajama shirt was loose enough that I was seeing an uncomfortable amount of cleavage.

"Mnhhh…" moaned Aiko as she began to wake, probably due to my fidgeting. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at me and smiled. "G'mornin' Shikai~."

"G-Good morning," I stuttered, still embarrassed by our position.

"Hm?" said Aiko, not understanding my embarrassment. She looked down, noticing both her excessive cleavage and the fact that we were cuddling, and turned bright red. "I-I'm sorry!"

Aiko jumped off of me, fixing her pajamas at the same time, and was very flustered.

"I-I-I'm sorry! I-I have a t-tendency to cuddle w-with whatever is in the bed. I didn't think you would be that," said Aiko, completely embarrassed by the situation.

"I-It's okay, I'm the same…" I said, trying to hide my blush. We looked at each other, both with bright blushes, and we broke out in a fit of nervous laughs. "S-So…umm…do you wanna get some breakfast?"

"Yes," said Aiko, trying to stifle her giggles. Aiko then leapt off the bed and moved to the bathroom to get ready to go out.

* * *

After we had left, we went to eat in the restaurant down the street, drawing attention to ourselves when Aiko accidentally spilled her food because of a funny situation. Afterward, we went back to our room, Aiko wanting some privacy to speak about when we were separated.

"So…" began Aiko, wanting to know everything that she had missed. "What happened to you while I was kidnapped? Yesterday you said something about almost getting killed."

"…Ah…well, I-I lied. That didn't really happen, I'm not sure why I said it then," I lied, trying to keep her from worrying. I laughed, nervously, hoping it would cover for me until I felt a light tug at my sleeve. I looked over and found that Aiko was holding onto my sleeve, her eyes hidden by her bangs.

"Shikai…you're a horrible liar," said Aiko, sadly. She gave me a nervous smile and I sighed as she revealed her worried eyes to me.

"*sigh*…you're not gonna let this go, are you?" I asked, receiving a shake of the head from Aiko. "Fine…It's not really your fault that I almost died, though. I participated in the last boss battle with Kirito and a friend of ours and I let down my guard and took a big hit. It wasn't that serious."

"Shikai, don't beat around, just tell me what happened exactly. Also, I know that that isn't the only thing you're hiding," said Aiko, sternly, causing my eyes to widen a bit. Am I that transparent? I'm usually hard to read because I give off mixed signals.

"How are you so sure I'm not telling you how it is?" I said, bluntly, kind of annoyed that I was being read so easily. Even though I liked Aiko, which she will _not _be finding out about until I answer her confession, it didn't mean I couldn't get annoyed with her.

"I know you better than you think, Shikai. I love you enough to at least know you," said Aiko, bringing up her confession again. I blushed and looked away, embarrassed, and remained silent. "You know Agil and Kirito added me to their friend's lists. I could easily message them and find out. The only reason I'm asking you is because I wanted to hear it from you."

"…Aiko, I'm not telling you because I don't want you to worry," I said, seriously.

"I don't care. I'll worry whether or not you tell me," said Aiko, her stare piercing into my eyes. I averted my eyes and sighed, knowing she really wasn't going to let this go.

"The only reason I survived the last boss battle is because someone healed me before my health hit zero," I blurted out, causing Aiko to gasp. I turned to look into her eyes, seeing the worry, but forcing myself not to hold back. "From the night you were taken to three days after, I didn't sleep as I worked to strengthen myself in preparation to save you. It got so bad that I passed out at Agil's place and slept for almost 24 hours."

"W-Why?" said Aiko, her voice cracking a bit. My stomach churned when I heard her voice, knowing I was making her cry.

"It was all my fault you were taken. Those people I had killed before your brother…they were LC, too, and they wanted revenge so they kidnapped you as collateral. I blamed myself and punished myself," I said, leaving out my feelings for her from the confession.

"Shikai, it wasn't your fault! You never would have known something like that would happen! You shouldn't have punished yourself," said Aiko, angrily. I watched her jump to her feet and my heart sank as she shouted at me, probably furious that I blamed myself.

"Yeah, but if I had never gotten so close to you then you would have never been kidnapped. I should have just stayed away from you, from everyone. The second I messed with LC I dug my own grave and everyone and anyone who associates with me will get hurt," I said, seriously and with underlying depression. Aiko remained silent for a moment and I could feel her eyes on me as I looked down. I heard her shuffling across the floor toward me and I watched as her arm wrapped around my head, the other across the back of my head, and she pressed the side of my head into her chest in a tight embrace.

"Shikai, I already knew all this. I'm ready to walk with you. Please let me be by your side," said Aiko, softly, as she hugged me. I remained frozen for a minute, my heart nearly bursting from my chest. I've tried very hard to scare her off, get her to not want to be with me anymore to protect her but with every word she makes me want to be selfish and keep her with me even thought it will be dangerous.

"Do I deserve to have someone like you by my side?" I asked, not moving in her embrace.

"Always," said Aiko, softly.

"Aiko," I began, my voice cracking. "I've never felt like I deserved someone. I've always belittled myself, not really having a reason for doing so or an understanding as to why I do. Because of that, it made it almost impossible for me to express my feelings towards someone. You…you make me want to tell you how I feel but it hurts to think that something might happen if I do. If something happened and you left or got hurt…I don't know what I'd do."

"But you'll protect me, won't you Shikai?" began Aiko, causing me to look up at her as she released her embrace. I looked up at her and she smiled at me before continuing. "Plus, we promised to always be together right? I'll never break that promise."

I stared at her with surprise in my eyes. She was serious. No matter what happened between us, she was serious about staying together. I can't keep down the swelling in my heart that makes me want to scream out how I felt about her right then. I have to tell her.

"Aiko," I said, seriously, while grabbing both her hands in my own. She squeaked in surprise and I stared at her straight in her eyes. "I love you."

Aiko seemed like she was processing my words for a moment and a bright smile stretched across her face. Before I could even react, she threw herself at me, kissing me passionately and scaring me half to death.

I remained frozen for a minute before hesitantly wrapping my arms around her waist and then deepened the kiss.

_Knock Knock_

"Hey, Shikai! Aiko! Asuna and I were going to go dungeon hunting. You two want to join?" asked Kirito from the other side. Aiko broke the kiss and I cussed under my breath, having been thoroughly enjoying our little make-out session.

"We're coming!" shouted Aiko as she straddled me. "U-Um…later? Maybe?"

"Hell yes," I breathed, causing her to smile at me. Aiko moved to the bathroom to change into her armor and I went to tell Kirito that we were changing. He entered and sat on the bed, noticing my flushed face.

"You alright? You looked tired," said Kirito, probably thinking I hadn't slept the night before. Truth was, Aiko wore me down fairly quickly with that kiss.

"U-Um…yeah, just tired…from yesterday," I lied, trying not to look Kirito in the eye. I'm not sure if her believed it or not but he didn't pry any further than that.

"Shikai~, your turn," sung Aiko as she came out of the bathroom, dressed in the armor I made her. I nodded and went to change, changing fairly quickly.

After I got out, we all went to meet up with Asuna at the edge of town.

"Hey~ Shikai~," sung Asuna, waving towards us from a distance. She ran over to us and glanced at Kirito with a worried expression before turning to me while wearing a bright smile. "How are you feeling? Kirito told me you were acting like a superhero yesterday when you saved one of your friends."

"U-Uh…Y-Yeah, I guess you could say that," I said glancing at Kirito, wondering how much he told her. "This is her. Asuna, meet Aiko. Aiko, this is my friend Asuna. She was a part of my boss raid group with Kirito."

"Hi! It's nice to meet you," said Asuna, happily, while extending a hand out towards Aiko. Aiko awkwardly muttered out a 'Same to you' while taking her hand.

"So, where are we going first?" asked Kirito, trying to change the subject.

"Hmm…" I said as I opened up my map. "It looks like there's a small dungeon entrance around 500 meters from here. It's a bit of a ways to be honest."

"Sounds good to me. We'll probably find something along the way, too," said Kirito.

* * *

We had gone as planned and ended up finding the entrance to the dungeon in the middle of the desert, far from any towns or oases. It had a small entrance which had crumbling sandstone pillars and a dark opening that seemed to lead under the sand. We entered, all on guard for traps, and wandered into a very dark room.

"Shikai? Where are you?" asked Aiko, probably uncomfortable with not being able to see me.

"Hum and I'll find you by sound," I said, causing Aiko to start humming. Just like I had said, I listened for her hums and found her after only a moment, intertwining our fingers as to not lose each other again. "Kirito, what do we do? We can't proceed if we can't see anything."

"There should be some torch or trigger to open a door. I'm not sure what it is I'm looking for though," said Kirito. As he finished saying that, a torch suddenly lit itself in front of us, revealing an Egyptian statue of Anubis who had a devious expression on his face. A moment later, torches on both sides lit one after the other, filling the room with light.

"Well at least we can see now," said Asuna, trying to calm our frayed nerves from the sudden lightening of the room.

"Shh! Asuna, you're never supposed to say that. In every movie something bad hap-," I hissed before being cut off by a loud cranking sound.

"What was tha-?" asked Kirito before two trapdoors in the floor opened beneath us.

"CRAP!" shouted Kirito and I as Aiko and I and Kirito and Asuna fell into separate holes.

I pulled Aiko towards me and hugged her to me as we fell and hit what seemed like a chute in which we slid down in darkness. The only sounds being Aiko and my screaming as we fell down the endless chute.

* * *

_**So? What did you guys think?**_

_**I guess I'll start out with saying: I'm sorry, did I say lax? I meant Aiko and I reconnecting with emotional stories and crying with a bit of making out.**_

**_Also, sorry for the short chapter. I didn't want to cut too much into the dungeon exploration and that ending just seemed Perrrrrfect._**

**_Anyways, Review and let me know how I've been doing and things you guys might like to see later in the story. Also, for any who liked Bradley (the Australian) he'll become a more important character later on so don't worry if you don't see him for awhile._**

**_Until next time...byeee :D_**


	17. Chapter 17

_**Hey guys, MT here!**_

_**Here's the new chapter and I hope you guys find it interesting. It's just a run-of-the-mill exploration chapter which I tried to make as upbeat as possible because I'm tired of all the depressing chapters. Are you done? I am, for now at least, and so, look forward to the relationship building of Aiko and I.**_

_**ENJOY!**_

**_UPDATED 7/15/15_**

* * *

**Chapter 17**

Aiko and I were currently falling down the chute, clinging to each other, with Aiko screaming in my ear. We fell for what seemed to be around 10 minutes and a bright light appeared along our path which was slowly decreasing in slope. We both entered the light and fell out of the chute into a brightly lit room, falling to the ground.

"Ow…" whined Aiko, rubbing her head in pain. "Shikai, are you oka- Wah! I'm so sorry!"

Aiko had noticed part way through her sentence that she had fallen on top of me when we fell out and I had spirals in my eyes as she had smacked her head against mine.

She bounced off of me and gently shook me, rousing me from my daze.

"Ugh, where are we?" I asked, confused, as I rubbed my aching head. I looked around and found myself in a sandstone room with glowing torches on the walls on all sides. In front of us was a hallway with torches that went on for awhile. There were designs on the walls that made it look like an Egyptian temple and I immediately went on the defensive. "Aiko, what would you say this looks like to you?"

"Hm? Well, it kinda looks like those pyramid dungeons from some old movies I used to watch," said Aiko, causing my expression to turn serious.

"And what would you find in one of those dungeons?" I said, causing her to look at me with a confused expression.

"Um…bandits? Uh…mummies? Giant stone anubises?" listed Aiko, trying to remember all the villains from those movies.

"Precisely. All those dangerous things that could be around any corner and we can't retreat," I said, finally allowing Aiko to understand. We can't retreat if we get low on health. The chute is too steep to go back. We can only move forward.

I pulled my sword from its sheath, Aiko performing a similar action, and we moved, cautiously, into the hall.

As we walked, I stopped and held out my arm to keep Aiko from proceeding. She was about to ask before I pointed, with my sword, to a line of string just above the ground.

"A trap?" asked Aiko. I nodded and then pushed her back, inciting her to take a few steps back. I, hesitantly, cut the string with the tip of my sword causing a loud cranking sound to occur. The floor just in front of the string dropped in a large square shape, leaving a large hole in the floor and only a strip on the side to get across. "Woah."

I laughed at her reaction and slowly made my way to the edge to find large spikes at the bottom of the trap.

"Did I mention how much I hate Egyptian dungeons? Because it's a lot," I said, causing Aiko to giggle. We moved to the small strip of stone at the edge and I told her to wait until I was at the other side. I slowly moved to the other side and beckoned her when I was close to the other side. She began making her way across and she was almost at the end when she noticed something at the bottom of the pit.

"Skeleton!" cried Aiko, startling me and causing her to lose her balance. "W-Woah!"

"Aiko!" I shouted as I suddenly reached out to her and grabbed her before yanking her over to the other side. I slipped as I did so and gasped as I fell into the hole.

"Shikai!" shouted Aiko as she shuffled to the edge to find me dangling at the edge of the pit. "Oh my gosh! Give me your hand!"

Aiko grabbed my hand and struggled to yank me up, pulling me just enough that I could force myself up.

"Shikai, are you okay?" asked Aiko, worried.

"*pant*…I…*pant*…hate Egyptian dungeons," I panted, causing Aiko to stare at me, frozen, for a moment before breaking out in a fit of giggles because of how I reacted. I laughed with her and we sat there for a few minutes, laughing off the ridiculous situation we were in.

* * *

We wandered through the dungeon, finding a couple more traps along the way, still not finding any monsters, though.

As we walked down a corridor, we hit a sharp turn and went into a very short hall that seemed to open up into a large room. In the room were a series of sarcophagi, equal amounts on either side.

"Be on guard, Aiko," I said, readying my sword. She nodded and readied her sword in preparation for a possible attack. When we were about halfway into the room, one of the tops of the sarcophagi blew off, falling on the floor. A mummy began to climb out of the sarcophagus and then more tops flew. Soon, all ten were open and ten mummies were dragging themselves towards us, making me nervous. What were they going to do? How would they fight?

"CREEEE!" screeched one of the mummies before they all lunged at once. I grabbed Aiko by the back of her plate body and yanked her downward before throwing her underneath one of the flying mummies. I then rolled out of the way, catching myself once out of range and jumping back to my feet. The mummies all smashed into each other, taking some of each of their heaths, and fell to the ground.

"ATTACK!" I shouted, causing Aiko to mimic me in running towards the group of downed mummies. I swiped at their bodies, hitting three of them, and Aiko used a Sword Skill to hit one for most of their health. We continued our assault, knocking the mummies down each time they tried to rise up. One finally managed to get up and it pushed me before I could do anything, allowing more to rise up. Aiko and I jumped back to opposite sides of the room and the mummies split up to attack us. I pierced one that came at me and swiped upward, splitting it in half and killing it before another rammed into me. I jumped back, hitting a wall and cussing, before throwing my sword up to block one of the mummies punches. It grabbed my sword and I could almost see some of its bandages slide down my sword. I instinctually snapped my sword from its grip only to notice that the bandages were knotted around it.

This wasn't good. I can't get a good slash if the mummy restricts my sword's movement.

Since my sword was compromised, I did what anyone else would do. I punched the mummy in the face, knocking him into another mummy behind him. In that short moment, I equipped my dagger and pulled it out before piercing into one of the other mummies. That one had been low on health so it died when I pierced it and I proceeded to use the dagger to slice the bandages off my sword. I had three more mummies to deal with and they were all coming at me at the same time. I started off with a quick swipe to their core, taking a chunk of health from them. Then I rolled out of the way of an attack and sliced the legs off one of the mummies, causing him to fall to the floor which gave me the chance to pierce its head, killing it. The other two charged me and I charged towards them, moving through the small space in between them before slashing at their backs. I took my dagger and threw it at the back of the head of one of the mummies and kicked off the ground and pierced the other through its chest, killing both of them.

I sighed in relief that I had gotten through that and picked up my dagger before turning in Aiko's direction to see how she had been doing. I saw neither her nor the mummies she had been fighting and I immediately became worried and began looking around, only for her to scare the daylights out of me when I found her pop out of one of the nearby sarcophagi.

"BOO!" shouted Aiko, causing me to jump.

"My gosh! You scared the shit out of me," I cursed, clutching my heart.

"I'm sorry~! I just thought it would be funny to scare you after your battle," said Aiko with an innocent expression. I rolled my eyes at her in response to her childishness.

"So, when did you beat all of your mummies? Must have been awhile if you had time to think up a way to scare me," I commented, causing her to pout.

"I finished only a couple minutes before you and are you mad that I teased you?" asked Aiko, thinking she annoyed me.

"No, I'm not mad. I just thought something happened to you when I didn't see you," I said, frowning and looking away. I heard her hop out of the sarcophagus and walk towards me before a pair of arms moving around my neck forced me to look back at her.

"You're so cute when you're worried," said Aiko before leaning towards me, signaling wanting to kiss.

"Then I must be adorable all the time," I said, slyly, and smiling before leaning towards her, our lips pressing together for a quick kiss. "That'll be the last one while we're in here. You wouldn't _believe _how distracting that can be."

Aiko giggled at my comment and hugged me tight before releasing me and spinning around.

"Well, then, we should probably get out of here quickly," suggested Aiko, causing me to chuckle.

"We should," I said before walking by her and taking her hand as we progressed into the next hallway.

* * *

We had continued through the dungeon, not seeing much different than before. There were some more traps, some sarcophagi built into the walls this time with mummies exiting them. We fought and explored for almost an hour and a half, making the grand total nearly three hours, before we found a small wooden door with a golden, inlaid design. I checked the door for any kind of trap triggers before, hesitantly, pushing it open.

"Wow," said Aiko when we saw what was in the room.

We slowly entered and I inspected the room. There was one large, and very decorated, sarcophagus inlaid into the back wall, and golden designs and hieroglyphics all along the walls as well as chests and urns scattered about. As we entered, we heard a door creaking and Aiko and I went on the defensive, swords at the ready to attack whatever was entering.

"Kirito! I told you this had to be the treasure room. The door was really decorated," said a familiar voice which could only have been Asuna. Into the room came Kirito and Asuna, who were bickering, and Aiko and I relaxed our tense positions.

"Hm? Oh! We finally found you guys!" said Kirito, happy that we had finally met back up.

"What a coincidence that the treasure room links the two paths. I'm assuming you guys had to go through hell with traps and mummies?" I asked, knowing that they had.

"We only had a couple of traps but we had to fight a big statue of Anubis. It was a bit crazy," said Asuna, giggling a bit at some memory.

"Really? We didn't see anything like that!" said Aiko who began prodding Asuna on what it looked like and such.

"So…" I said to Kirito. "I think we both know the boss of this dungeon is in that sarcophagus."

"Yeah, question is, how strong is he?" said Kirito.

"Why don't we find out?" I said before taking the dagger I had used before and throwing it, hard, at the sarcophagus. Aiko and Asuna stopped speaking when they heard the loud clank of metal on metal and it only took a few moments before the cover was blown off, causing me to jump out of the way.

"Everybody on guard!" shouted Kirito, causing everyone to prepare to fight. A creature walked out of the sarcophagus and we gaped a bit. It was maybe a 7 foot mummy with elongated limbs and was wearing an Anubis mask on its head. It only had two health bars but it was still going to be a threat.

It screeched, loudly, and Asuna and I charged it first, both of us dodging a swing of its arms. Asuna ducked underneath it and used a Sword Skill to stab it a multitude of times and I attacked higher up, swiping at its partially bandaged body. The mummy screeched in pain and threw a punch at me which I caught with my sword. Asuna rolled out of the way of a kick and switched with Kirito who jumped onto its back and pierced it with a Sword Skill, taking its attention from me and allowing me to attack it.

"Everyone together!" I shouted causing Asuna and Aiko to join in. We all attacked the mummy from different sides and, once it hit red on its last bar, it failed about wildly, smashing me in the face. I was thrown back into the wall and then it grabbed Kirito from its back and threw him at the opposite wall.

You could almost feel the anger emanate from Aiko and Asuna when Kirito and I had been hurt and they both activated a powerful Sword Skill.

"Don't" began Aiko as she sliced at the mummy.

"You," continued Asuna as she pierced it a few times.

"Hurt," said Aiko as she got another swipe.

"Kirito!"

"Shikai!" shouted both girls at the same time before piercing through the mummy's body, knocking off the rest of its health. After it burst into pixels, the girls split off to each of us and helped us up.

"Are you okay, Shikai?" asked Aiko as she helped me up and pulled out a healing potion.

"I'm alright. Just surprised me. Also, you don't need to waste a potion. He only knocked me down to half. I'll regenerate soon enough," I said, pushing the potion away. She muttered out an 'Okay' and pouted which caused me to smile before giving her a quick kiss. "I'm okay, really."

"How are you doing, Shikai?" asked Kirito, who had made his way over with Asuna.

"Good, you?" I asked as I rose to my feet.

"I'm alright, Asuna forced me to drink a potion," said Kirito before looking around. "Well, guess we should loot this place and go back to town."

"Agreed," I said, glad that we were finally done with this place.

* * *

_**So? What did you guys think?**_

_**A nice, relatively calm chapter with Aiko and my shenanigans. Also, I know the mummy fight could have been better but I got lazy near the end because I was tired and dealing with my birthday.**_

_**Anyways, until next time...byeee :D**_


	18. Chapter 18

_**Hey guys MT here!  
**_

_**You guys can murder me now if you want! I know that I've been really bad about getting the chapters up but alot has been coming up. That is why I'm going to have to say that no chapter will be coming up from last week so you'll just be getting this week's chapter. I may put up a double chapter at a later point but it depends how much time I have.**_

_**Aside from the lack of time something special came back to slow me down, further. Writer's blockkkkkk~! I hate it so much. This is the first chapter where I had literally no idea what to write. In the end I had an idea, began writing, and completely changed what I was originally gonna write. Meh, maybe another chapter.**_

_**Anyways, ENJOY!**_

**_UPDATED 7/15/15_**

* * *

**Chapter 18**

**_A week later…_**

I haven't really been keeping up with the boss raiding party since I had gone in to that last one. Since then, though, the team has been on a rampage. They've cleared 4 more floors since then and the team has more than doubled in its size.

They're still going, too. They have the 13th floor boss fight later today and I'm pretty sure the fourteenth floor will be open by tonight.

Aiko and I have kind of moved away from the front lines. Aiko seemed a bit scared of going back so quickly, especially with what Asuna had told her about the previous boss. It was also about me, I guess. A few nights ago I had a strange nightmare and she refused to go anywhere near the front lines anytime soon. It was a strange dream, too…

* * *

**_A few nights ago…_**

_"Why…?"_ echoed a voice in the empty space of my mind.

_"Who's there?!" _I shouted, defensively.

_"Why did you do this to us?" _moaned the voice, causing me to panic and begin looking around. I reached for my sword and gasped when I couldn't find it on my person. I tried to activate the menu but it didn't function. Within minutes, I was surrounded with purple and blue flames and I looked around, panicked. Three distinct balls of fire broke off from the flames and floated around me before transforming into familiar forms.

One form was Aiko's brother and the other two were the LC members I had killed so long ago. Their eyes were hollow and little red particles floated off of their body.

_"Why did you do this to us?" _said the three in unison before they took a step closer. I looked around, not seeing an escape route from in the middle of the trio of dead players. While I panicked, I failed to notice one threw a dagger at me and it pierced me in my gut, causing me to gasp. I grabbed the dagger but had no time to pull it out as the trio took another step towards and then another, closing in on me.

The group repeated the same thing again and they were finally so close that I had no kind of opening to slip through. One whispered to me and I couldn't even think of a reply before their bodies burst into red pixels and spun around me like a tornado before wrapping around my ankles and wrists and stretching my limbs out so that I was being held in the shape of an X.

_"Muhahahaha!" _laughed a familiar voice from in front of me. I glanced up and a giant face appeared in the cloud of smoke from the fire. It was the face of PoH with his hood covering his eyes. _"Hello there, Shikai! This is hell and I am your devil! Shall we begin your torture?!"_

_"What the hell do you want, PoH?!" I shouted out at his face. He broke out into laughter and looked down at me._

_"I want nothing more, than your agonizing death, for both causing a stir in my guild and just because you're such an INTERESTING fellow. I hope you're prepared Shikai because_ It's show time_!" _shouted PoH and before I knew it, there were swords of every kind, floating around me in a circle. They all flew at me at the same time and pierced me, forcing me awake.

"AHHHHHH!" I shouted as I shot up from the bed. I was panting and drenched in sweat as I sat there in bed, wide-eyed, and was touching my face and chest and abdomen where I had been pierced.

"Shikai? Are you alright?" asked Aiko who was seated next to me with a worried expression. My breath calmed after she pressed her small hand to my bicep and I instantly wrapped my arms around her, startling her.

"Please…just…let me stay like this," I said, causing Aiko to relax in my grip. I pressed my face against her shoulder as she wiggled her arms free and wrapped them around my head, humming a 'Mhm'.

* * *

After that, Aiko and I had stayed up to talk about my nightmare and she took it as an omen that we should lay low for awhile. We're currently on the 11th floor and will probably remain here until the fifteenth floor is opened which, with how fast the raiding party has been, will probably be within a few days.

As far as what we're doing now, we're currently in Taft exploring the stores. This place is actually quite the trading city and it has a plethora of places as well as _three _blacksmiths. That's a third of all the blacksmith shops that have been discovered so far.

"Shikai, look! It's a jewelry shop! Let's see if they have any enchanted things," said Aiko, excitedly. I grinned at her and rolled my eyes at the childish way she hopped around like a little kid. I followed her as we went over to the shop and we entered through the door, ringing the little bell attached to it.

"Welcome to Ryu Jewelers!" welcomed the NPC who was working the counter. I smiled and waved over to her before turning to find Aiko glued to one of the glass containers, looking at some golden amulets.

Before I could walk over to her, someone called out to me.

"Shikai?" said a familiar voice from the opposite direction Aiko was. When I turned, I realized the voice belonged to Asuna who was with a girl with brown hair and a baby face.

"Asuna, what's up?" I asked, happy to see her after not seeing each other since the dungeon raid a week ago.

"Nothing much, I'm just here with my friend looking for any enchanted jewelry. Are you here alone?" asked Asuna, looking around me. "Oh, wait, is that Aiko over there? Are you two looking for enchanted jewelry, too?"

"Yeah, she seemed too enthusiastic for me to turn her down," I said, laughing awkwardly. "So, are you going to introduce me to your friend? She looks a little awkward just standing there."

"What?! Don't say that, moron," said the girl before puffing up her cheeks, annoyed.

"A-Ah, yeah, this is my friend Lisbeth. Liz, this is my friend Shikai and that girl over there is Aiko. We met through one of my friends and went on a dungeon raid last week," explained Asuna, gesturing back and forth between us.

"Nice to meet you, Shikai," said Lisbeth, extending her hand out to me. I took it and smiled as I shook it.

"Nice to meet you, too, Liz," I said, using the nickname Asuna used. Lisbeth's grip tightened and a dark aura spread out from her.

"Don't use Asuna's nickname," growled Lisbeth, causing me to shrink back in fear as her eyes glowed.

"Y-Yes, ma'am!" I shouted, standing erect. She released my hand and put on an innocent smile, causing me to relax. Aiko snuck up behind me and wrapped her arms around my right arm, pressing it to her body.

"What's going on, Shikai? Oh, hi, Asuna!" said Aiko, enthusiastically. Asuna waved to her and introduced Lisbeth to her before we all went over to look around.

We found all sorts of items and it seems that most of the enchanted items were either monster drops or very rare smith products. Some gave boosts to health or health regeneration, some increased the speed in which you can activate Sword Skills. All sorts of things.

I watched Aiko looking around and noticed when she lingered, especially long on one piece of jewelry. It increased your defensive skills and it was a golden bracelet with a mix of sapphires and emeralds embedded in it and it gleamed under the candle light. She then moved away from it and I glanced back at her before moving to Asuna.

"Asuna," I whispered, taking her attention from Lisbeth. "I need you to help me with something."

"What's up?" whispered Asuna, wondering what was going on.

"Take Aiko out to one of the other stores. I want to get her something as a surprise," I whispered, causing Asuna's eyes to light up.

"Hey, _Liz, _aren't you getting a little hungry?" asked Asuna, loudly.

"Huh? Well, I guess. Why?" said Lisbeth, confused by the sudden situation.

"Why don't we go out to eat? Aiko, too. We can have some girl time to get to know each other more!" said Asuna, loudly. Aiko turned when she heard her name and walked over to the duo, interested in their conversation.

"Are you two going?" asked Aiko.

"We're going to get lunch and we wanted to see if you wanted to come along, too," explained Asuna. Aiko smiled and muttered out a 'sure' before they went off.

"I'll see you at the hotel later, Shikai. Be safe and don't make a fuss," said Aiko. I smiled and waved to her and waited until they had mingled into the crowd before turning around. I went over to the NPC and a pop-up window came up. It asked if I would like to buy something and I chose the bracelet that Aiko had been looking at so intently. A player came out from the back and was holding a small paper bag and set it on the table.

"Thanks for coming by my shop! Here's your bracelet," said the manager. I muttered out a thank you and took the bag before leaving the store.

I decided to just go back to the hotel room and relax until Aiko finished.

* * *

I ended up reading all the most recent newspapers and found out that the front-liners cleared the 13th floor boss room and we now have access to the 14th floor. It's been a couple hours and I received a message ten minutes ago from Asuna that they were about to get to the hotel. It's kind of funny thinking the word 'hotel'. They've been inns up to this point but this building is way too big to be considered an inn.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard the door to the room open and I looked up from where I was laying in the bed relaxing.

"I'm back~," said Aiko as she came around the corner into the room.

"Welcome back, Aiko," I said as I got up from the bed and grabbed the bag from the table. I went up to her and gave her a light kiss as greeting and we broke before I held up the bag. "This is for you."

"Aw, you got me a present? You shouldn't have, Shikai," said Aiko, a bright smile on her face. I blushed in embarrassment and grinned, sheepishly, as she opened up the bag and she gasped in surprise as she took it from the bag. "Shikai! How did you know I wanted this from the store we were in? I had wanted to get it but I thought it was too much Col."

"I saw you stop on this one for a bit so I thought you might like it," I said, glancing away because of how adorable she looked as she inspected the bracelet.

"Thank you so much, Shikai!" said Aiko as she threw herself at me in a tight hug. I smiled and wrapped my arms around, happy that she liked it. I heard her menu open as she held onto me and saw a light out of the corner of my eye before she relaxed her hug. I did too and she pulled back to show her wrist which had the bracelet on it. "It's beautiful, Shikai, I love it!"

"Hehe, I'm glad you like it," I said, smiling brightly. Before I realized it, Aiko had linked our lips in a hot kiss to which I returned and pressed her to me. We broke and the first words from my mouth were, "I love you, Aiko."

"I love you, too, Shikai," said Aiko before giving me another kiss. We kissed again and again until Aiko began to giggle, surprising me. "I…*giggle*…just remembered something. Liz and I had been talking about you at lunch."

"Gossiping about me, I see? And what, may I ask, was my lady saying?" I asked, making Aiko giggle from how I was saying it.

"Well, Liz noticed how we were acting and she was acting so perverted thinking we had _that _kind of relationship. I told her we're just a couple, though. She still acted all perverted about it, though," said Aiko, giggling all the way. I chuckled at the way Liz had acted and I thought for a moment.

"Well, it's not like we _couldn't _have that kind of relationship," I said, suggestively, while wiggling my eyebrows. She looked at me with a surprised expression and I broke out into laughter at her reaction. "Oh my gosh! You should see the look on your face after hearing that!"

"Don't tease me like that!" said Aiko before whacking me across the head, only causing me to laugh harder. "I'm gonna get you!"

I chuckled again and ran around the bed, Aiko chasing after me, and we basically spent awhile of her chasing me around, both of us laughing all the while.

* * *

_**So? What did you guys think?**_

_**I decided to introduce Liz into the story. Since the wiki doesn't specify when exactly they became friends, and Asuna had said they had been friends for awhile when Kirito first met her, I thought I might as well make it early on.**_

_**Also, I totally messed up on the time management, guys. They're supposed to be on, at least, the 27th floor by like mid-April so I have to work quickly to bring them up. Technically, it isn't that far-fetched to say that four floors were cleared in a week because many of the early floors were cleared very quickly. I mean, they basically cleared 27 floors in 6 months in the canon. Anyways, I'm sorry if it seems too quick but I just want to catch up and I'll manage the time better.**_

_**Anyways, please Review and until next time...byeee :D**_


	19. Chapter 19

_**Hey guys MT here!**_

_**I'm finally back just to go away again! I'm sorry I've been really bad with keeping the chapters weekly I've just had no drive for anything this summer. I've tried really hard to keep up and now you will be without a chapter. To make up for it I plan to update all the chapters with fixed errors, grammar mistakes, and spelling. I know I should do that anyway but I'm telling you guys anyways.**_

_**Also, when I said I'm going away again, I'm going to Canada on friday for vacation and won't be back til after the fourth of July but that's when I plan on fixing the chapters. Anyways, here's the chapter...ENJOY!**_

**_UPDATED 7/15/15_**

* * *

**Chapter 19**

So it's around mid-April and the 27th floor was opened two hours ago. Aiko and I are currently on our way up to the 24th to set up there. Agil opened up a shop on that floor after he sold his old one because he wanted to be closer to the front lines, which is where most of the people needing weapons and armor would be.

Meanwhile, Aiko and I have just entered the teleport gate to arrive here at the 24th floor in the main city of Panareze.

"Waahhhh~! It's so beautiful!" shouted Aiko, happily. We looked out across the calm scenery and the small wooden huts that scattered the city. Beyond that we could see the endless waters and islands scattered in the distance.

"It's nice here. I can understand why Agil would set up here," I said, smiling as I watched Aiko bounce around as she inspected the sights.

"Well slap me silly! That you, Shikai?" called out a familiar Australian voice. I spun around and found Bradley standing there, just outside the teleport gate with his cocky grin.

"Bradley, what's up?" I said, happily. "It's good to see you again, man!"

"It's right good to see yuh again, too, mate. I was looking at the _gorgeous _lass next to yuh when I saw yuh there. Mind introducin' us?" said Bradley as he threw his arm around my shoulders and winked at me.

"I would if I could but I can't," I said, slightly annoyed that someone was asking me get Aiko together with someone else.

"Why's that, mate? I know that we ain't been friends very long but yuh could 'least help me with this," whined Bradley, annoying me further.

"I can't help you get her because she's _mine_," I said, firmly. Bradley was taken aback by the anger in my voice and he immediately began to apologize for offending me.

"Right good, right good. Sorry 'bout that, didn't realize you had such a hot one," said Bradley, causing my eyebrow to twitch.

"Shikai~ are you going to introduce me to your friend?" sung Aiko, peeking out from behind me.

"A-Ah, Aiko, this is one of the people who fought in that boss battle before I found you. His name is Bradley. He's the one who gave me the potion before I died," I explained, causing Aiko to gasp. She faced Bradley and bowed, deeply, with tears forming in her eyes.

"Thank you so much for saving Shikai!" shouted Aiko, causing Bradley and I to be taken aback.

"A-Ahaha…lass yuh don't needa thank me, really. I couldn't a left a fellow player to die. It ain't right," said Bradley, putting his hands forward with an embarrassed expression.

"Aiko, don't get so worked up about it. Anyone would have done it for anyone. It's not a big deal," I said, trying to calm her down.

"It _is _a big deal! I couldn't imagine where I would be if you had died!" snapped Aiko, causing my eyes to widen. After a moment I smiled at her and moved over to her before wrapping my arms around her waist and kissed her on top of the head.

"Blimey I wish I 'ad a woman I could get all lovey dovey with," commented Bradley, causing Aiko and I to laugh.

"Why don't we go to a bar and catch up? We each probably have a lot to talk about," I suggested, receiving agreeing nods from both. We all walked towards the nearest bar to catch up.

* * *

**_Sometime later…_**

"Bloody hell, can't believe all that happened to yuh. First yuh had to fight Laughin' Coffin to save the lass here then yuh went into some awesome soundin' dungeon and yuh've basically been explorin' dungeons since," said Bradley, repeating what Aiko and I had just finished explaining to him.

"Yeah, it was pretty messed up with LC but I'm glad everything worked out," I said, grabbing Aiko's hand and smiling at her.

"Are either of yuh thinking 'bout ever returnin' to the front lines? Yuh both seem like yuh're pretty strong. We could use yuh up there against the bosses," said Bradley, causing me to frown.

"To be honest, I wouldn't mind returning to the front lines after maybe another floor or two but Aiko and I could both be in danger of being attacked by LC so we've been laying low," I explained, causing Bradley nod his head in understanding.

"Well, y'know if yuh joined one of 'em big guilds, LC can't really touch yuh. I know! Why don'tcha join my guild? It's called the Divine Dragons Alliance, DDA for short. We're one of the best and I could talk to the higher ups and get you a bodyguard," said Bradley, excitedly. Aiko smiled, brightly, in realization that he was right.

"That would be perfect! Shikai, don't you think so?!" said Aiko, excitedly. I, on the other hand, was less enthusiastic. I don't like guilds. I don't like formal groups in general. Ever since I was little I've always been really bad with working in groups, more so when I'm not the leader of the group. It's mostly because I have this annoying need to be superior to the other group members which also makes it hard to work with them because I feel like I'm faster and better than them at the individual jobs. This basically means me joining a guild = bad.

"Um…I think it's better if you join on your own, Aiko," I said, causing Aiko's smile to disappear.

"Why can't you join too? I don't want to be alone there," said Aiko, sadly.

"I'm not good with guilds, but it's not like we're going our separate ways. I'll be with you but just not in the guild," I said, trying to comfort her.

"Yuh wanna be a solo player, Shikai? I heard there are a few of 'em out there but it's right dangerous," said Bradley.

"I've done pretty well so far. Aiko, I really want you to join them. If you don't like them you can always leave but I'll still be there to support you," I said, holding her hand, tightly. She stared into my eyes for a moment and then sighed, muttering out a 'Fine' and Bradley put on a bright smile.

"C'mon then, lass, let's go to the base. It's on the 26th floor in the Divinity Temple. We took it over when we found an amazing secret passage," said Bradley, jabbing a thumb in some random direction over his shoulder.

"C'mon, Shikai, I want you to see where my future guild is going to be," said Aiko as she grabbed my hand. I blushed when I saw the enthusiastic look in her eyes and how cute she looked before she dragged me off back towards the teleport gate.

* * *

We were arriving at the DDA's base, the Divinity Temple, and just from this distance it looked amazing. It was a massive, two-story building made of gray stone. Immense carvings covered the walls, some depicting immense dragons fighting heroes or gods descending from heaven to their people. It was covered in all sorts of vines and moss and surrounded by sky high pines and a mix of trees that weren't familiar.

"This place is amazing," I breathed, causing Bradley to put on a cocky grin.

"Right this way, mates," said Bradley before leading us into the building. There we were greeted by a large, bulky man in silvery armor which bulged off him.

"Hey, Bradley! What're you doing bringing civilians to our base? This base is for DDA members only!" shouted the man, making Bradley cringe.

"H-Hey, Schmitty ma friend! How yuh doing, mate?" said Bradley, nervously.

"Don't call your second in command something like that, dumbass! At least give me a little respect," complained Schmitt, causing Bradley to laugh nervously and rub that back of his neck. He then looked at us and then back to Bradley. "Anyways, who are these people? You know guild rules. Unless you're married to them or they're direct family you can't bring them to HQ."

"Actually, one of ma friends here is gonna join us. The girl is gonna join and the guy is her boyfriend," said Bradley, jabbing thumb in our direction.

"Hm…something special about her? If the official treasurer of the DDA is bringing someone to join the guild I'm going to assume it's for a reason other than she's good to look at," said Schmitt, causing my defensive side to come out. I moved in front of Aiko, protectively, and he laughed at me. "Calm down, I'm not gonna hit on her, but Bradley _is _known for trying to bring people into the guild because he finds them attractive."

"Aw c'mon mate, I ain't like that all the time," complained Bradley. "So can she join or not?"

"'Course she can. Her boyfriend here can't visit her, though. Unless they're married he can't enter the guild HQ," said Schmitt, pointing at me.

"Really? You can't make an exception just this once?" whined Aiko, pouting at him.

"I really can't, sorry. We made this rule because some players used members to get into our base and use up our resources. We need to protect our assets," explained Schmitt, probably not happy that he had to deny her after the look she had.

"It's alright, Aiko, we can always meet outside. I mean, it's not like you won't be able to see me anymore," I said in an attempt to comfort her.

"I know, I just wanted to spar with you in the guild, it's fun when we spar," said Aiko.

"Then just spar with me outside the guild. We can you to our usual spots," I said.

"Actually," cut in Schmitt. "Can you please refrain from sparring with people outside the guild? We'd like to keep our fighting styles fairly uniform so as to perform boss raids more efficiently."

"W-Well we could still raid dungeons together," I said, trying to make up for it.

"Haha, she won't have much time for that. Our members go out on dungeon raids every other day and in between are training regimens and informational meetings," explained Schmitt, causing us to stare at him in shock.

"How do you have any members? That's way too much," I said, shocked by the demanding work of the guild members.

"Well, family and spouses are allowed to join in everything except sparing so most of all of our members have family and spouses. I myself do not have either but that's because I'm very devoted to my work," said Schmitt, proudly.

"Um…I'll have to think more about this. I don't want to stop seeing Shikai after I join the guild so I want to talk to him about it," said Aiko, dejectedly.

"Alright then. Bradley can show you back if you decide to join us, otherwise it was very nice to meet you. Please have a good day," said Schmitt before retreating deep into the base.

"Well that's a right shame. I'm not really lookin' for anything permanent which is why I don't have any problems but I didn't even think about yer situation. Sorry fer gettin' yer hopes up," said Bradley, frowning a bit because he felt bad for not realizing how the guild rules might've affected us.

"It's alright. We're going to get back to the inn on floor 24. We'll contact you after we decide," I said. Bradley responded with a nod and Aiko and I left the guild base to go to the teleport gate and return to the 24th floor.

* * *

**_Later at the inn…_**

"So, Aiko, are you really not going to join the guild? I doubt they're actually going to work you so hard," I said, trying to convince her to do something good for herself.

"I don't think Mr. Schmitt was lying to us, Shikai, and Bradley seemed like it was all true. I don't want to be too busy to see you, Shikai, I love you," said Aiko, sadly, sitting on the bed with her knees pressed to her chest. I looked over to her from where I was on the bed, half of me laying down and my legs dangling off the edge.

"C'mon, you'll still see me, just not as often. Aiko, please at least consider it. Bradley was right in what he said. You'd be safer with a big guild than with just me," I said.

"What about you? If I'm going to be really busy in a guild, then you'll be alone often and will be more vulnerable," said Aiko, worriedly. I stretched out towards her and lightly rubbed her back in comfort.

"I'll be fine by myself, Aiko. Contrary to popular belief, I'm pretty strong," I said, jokingly.

"Shikai! I thought we said we were going to be there for each other? We can't be if we never see each other," said Aiko, annoyed at how nonchalant I was being about it.

"Aiko, you know I'm always going to be there for you whether or not we see each other often. Why are you so irritated about this? I'm only trying to convince you because I want to protect you," I said, seriously, propping myself up on my elbows as I stared at her in her eyes.

"Because I won't be able to be there for you! I couldn't stand it if something happened to you. If you died I'd probably just kill myself because I couldn't be without the person who saved me," said Aiko, causing my breath to catch in my throat. I pushed off the bed and pushed Aiko down on the bed, one hand grabbing her wrists and pulling them above her head and the other holding her thigh down. I could feel my face contorted in anger and she looked at me with a frightened expression.

"Don't you _EVER _say that again! Don't even think about it! Your life is something precious and you should never think about disposing of it," I shouted, angrily. Aiko's eyes were wide as she watched me and I hadn't even realized what I was doing. I saw water droplets fall onto Aiko's cheeks and my face contorted in surprise.

"I…I'm sorry Shikai. Please don't cry…" said Aiko. I released my grip on her wrists and she immediately moved towards my face, caressing my cheek with one of her hands. I remained frozen for a moment before slowly leaning down to lay down on Aiko, pressing my face into her collarbone. She wrapped her arms around my head, weaving her fingers into my hair. "I won't say it again, Shikai. You're right, that was something mean to say."

I remained silent as she hugged my head and I thought. She wasn't wrong with what she said before. I would never want to be away from her again. Even though I want her to join the guild so she can be better protected, I don't trust anyone to protect her as well as I would. What should I do? If it's a guild, LC will be less likely to attack but if they do I don't think they could protect her as well but if it were me alone, all they'd have to do is attack in a large group and we wouldn't have a chance.

I remembered something Schmitt had said about those people who were outside of the guild and I blushed and tried to burry my face deeper into her collarbone.

"Shikai? A-Are you still mad?" asked Aiko, nervously, as she tightened her grip around my head.

"N-No, not really…but I kind of thought of a…solution…to our problem," I said, blushing at the thought.

"What is it Shikai?" asked Aiko. I could feel her shift a bit and her stare was burning into the top of my head. I was so embarrassed to ask this but I couldn't really think of anything else to do.

"W-Will you marry me?" I asked, suddenly, my face burning a bright red. There was silence for a moment after I asked that and I looked up at her face to see why she was silent. She was wearing a shocked expression until I caught her attention by calling out her name. When she snapped out of it, her face filled with a bright red blush and the only thing that could come out of her mouth was 'Eh?'.

"Eh? Eh? EHHHHHHHH?!" shouted Aiko in shock, meanwhile, I just blushed and sweat dropped.

* * *

_**So? What did you guys think?**_

_**I wonder who I suprised with that last part. I actually wasn't planning on doing that for awhile but I thought it would be a good time since I'm also having her join the DDA and I always wanted to make them strict and a bit of an ass kind of guild if that makes any sense. One of my main objectives of doing it earlier is because Asuna and Kirito get married WAYYY too late in the game so there was barely any time for them to act as a proper married couple. I want to try and give Aiko and I some more time for that :)**_

_**Anyways, please Review to let me know what you guys thought and until next time...byeee :D**_


	20. Chapter 20

_**Hey guys MT here!**_

_**I'm finally back! I've been going through all the chapters and fixing them and I finally finished, ending with this new chapter. I hope you guys will check them out as they will make more sense without all the mistakes.**_

_**I hope this makes up for my absence and please ENJOY!**_

* * *

**Chapter 20**

_Will you marry me?_

Those words echoed in the room after I had suddenly asked Aiko such a question. She had been frozen when I asked and had snapped out it only for her face to completely fill with blush.

"Eh? Eh? EHHHHHH?!" shouted Aiko in shock. "W-W-W-W-W-What are you t-t-t-t-talking about, Shikai? Marry? But we have been together that long, we don't even know each other's real names! Do you really love me that much? Why would you say that so suddenly?!"

Aiko blurted out a million questions, the nervousness emanating from her voice. My blush was still bright after asking such a thing but I shifted my weight so I could sit up.

"W-Well, I do love you a lot a-and as to why I'm asking…well, remember what Schmitt said? If we get married then I could participate in guild activities with you and there wouldn't be a problem," I said, nervously. Aiko covered her face in embarrassment, probably at the thought of us being husband and wife, and remained silent for a few minutes. I finally broke the silence by speaking. "U-Um…well we really don't have to. I'm sure we could work something out without ge-"

"Yes," said Aiko, cutting me off. I froze for a minute, mildly confused by what she had said.

"W-What?" I stuttered, not understanding if she had been accepting my proposal or agreeing with finding another way.

"Y-Yes, Shikai. I'll m-m-marry you," said Aiko, peeking out from behind her hands. Her face might have been even redder than before but I was more concerned with her words. It took me a moment to process her words and my heart skipped when I realized she had just accepted me.

"R-Really?" I asked, still not believing it was true. She nodded, hesitantly, and a bright grin shot across my face. Aiko had covered her face again and I leaned down without her noticing. I blew a cool stream of air along her earlobe, causing her to gasp and move her hands from her face before I captured her lips, the happiness from her acceptance overflowing from me. She only deepened the kiss after wrapping her arms around my neck. I broke for a moment and breathed out an 'I love you' before reconnecting our lips.

"I love you, too, Shikai," breathed out Aiko when our lips broke again. I glided my hand down her side and she giggled a bit when I unintentionally tickled her. "Shikai, that tickles, don't do that."

"Sorry, I wasn't actually going for that reaction," I said, chuckling a bit. It took her a second to catch the perverted meaning behind my words and she blushed before looking away. I smiled at how innocent she was and pecked her on the cheek. "Shall we get married, then, my love?"

She smiled at me and nodded before we leapt off the bed to find a cathedral.

* * *

We found a cathedral on the 25th floor to get married in. Though we could technically get married right anywhere, we wanted to be in the proper place for it.

The 25th floor was almost like an ancient Rome in that it had cobble streets and huge marble structures like a colosseum or basilicas. There were even two enormous castles on either side of the city. The main city here is called Remus and was enormous. We found a cathedral relatively quickly and we entered only to be amazed by the inside. It must have been based off a Christian cathedral because the artwork on the walls was magnificent and the internal architecture was breath taking.

We walked towards the altar and we were greeted by a bishop who greeted us. I ignored the dialog box, as did Aiko, and we stood in front of the altar and turned to each other.

"Are you sure about this? You know it's a done deal and you'll be stuck with me," I mocked, a bright smile on my face. She playfully punched me and we both laughed.

"Says you! Would you be okay with me?" asked Aiko, playfully, eyeing me as she awaited my response. I decided to mess with her and yanked her towards me before wrapping an arm around her waist.

"If I lived a thousand lifetimes, I'd search for you in every one," I said, lovingly, causing her to blush a rose red.

"D-Dammnit, this smooth talking boyfriend," muttered Aiko, causing me to smile in satisfaction that I had thoroughly embarrassed her. "A-Anyways…ummm…c-could we get on with the ceremony."

I released her and blushed, not realizing I had gotten lost in thought while pressing her to me. I then opened my main menu and looked for the option for marriage and blushed as I sent her the message request.

"W-Well, why don't we…um, reenact the ceremony, since just the request seems a little boring," I suggested, causing her to blush but nod in agreement.

"W-Well…um…I guess, I should start…D-Do you, Shikai, take me, Aiko, to be your lawfully wedded w-wife, to love, honor, and obey, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poor, till death do us part?" said Aiko, a bright blush streaking across her face.

"I-I do," I said, blushing equally as bright. "A-And do you, Aiko, take me, Shikai, to be your lawfully wedded husband with the same terms?"

"I-I do," said Aiko, before she pressed the button. After she did so, a large pop-up window appeared behind us over the altar and said _'Then you are now pronounced husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.' _

We both smiled, brightly, as silver rings materialized on our left hand ring fingers and I stared, deeply, into her eyes as I leaned towards her. Her eyes began to drift shut as our lips approached one another's and it only took a moment for our lips to meet. We shared a deep yet chaste kiss and broke, only to be distracted by another window. This time it said _'Congratulations on your marriage!' _and in a smaller print bellow said _'All friends on both spouses Friend's lists have been informed'_.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that," I said, bluntly, a little annoyed that it informed everyone we had just gotten married.

"Me neither," said Aiko before giggling a bit. "Well, I'm kind of happy. I want everyone to know about our relationship!"

I smiled at her and took her hand, lacing our fingers together.

"So, my new and beautiful wife, where shall we go for our honeymoon?" I asked, curiously.

"Mm…how about we just explore this floor? It's so nice and historical," said Aiko, enthusiastically. I smiled and nodded before we left the cathedral to explore the ancient floor.

* * *

Hours had passed and it was already nearing 10 o'clock. We had explored a majority of that main city but didn't really make it out to other parts of the floor. We decided to continue the next day and were walking back to one of the few inns in Panareze on the 24th floor to call it a night.

As we approached the inn, which Agil had actually recommended as being the nicest in the city, we could see a small group of people outside. I became a bit defensive over Aiko, throwing my arm out in front of her, as we continued to approach the suspicious group.

"Shikai!" shouted a familiar voice, surprising me. One of the members of the group ran towards us and the light from a lamppost illuminated their face. It was Asuna. "Sheesh! You guys are so slow. We've been waiting for you to come back to the inn for hours!"

"A-Asuna? What are you doing here? And who's with you?" I asked, both surprised and confused by her appearance.

"Hm? Everyone else. Kirito, Agil, and Liz," said Asuna, as if we were supposed to know that.

"And why are you all here? Is something happening?" asked Aiko, trying not to sound rude.

"What else could we be here for? To congratulate your marriage!" shouted Agil, laughing loudly as he walked over to us.

"A-Ah…thanks," I said, an embarrassed blush streaking out across my face as I rubbed the back of my head.

"Now how could you not tell any of us you were gonna make this big jump, Shikai?" said Agil as he threw an arm around my neck. "Well, how does it feel to make such a beautiful woman your wife?"

"A-Ahaha, same as having her as my girlfriend," I said, causing Agil to pout because he was hoping I would say something a bit more embarrassing. I could both see and hear Aiko and the girls taking, she being mostly hounded by Liz and Asuna about why we got married and where.

"Congrats again, Shikai. Here's a gift from me," said Kirito as he held up a small box to me. I smiled at him and glanced at his health bar when something caught my eye. There was a small guild icon near his name and I smiled. It seemed like he was getting along with players again. I moved back to the present and proceeded to open it, the box disappearing in a puff of blue pixels. The gift was a platinum ring with a dragon design on it. I used my appraisal skill to inspect it and discovered it had an interesting enchantment. "It lowers the chances of poisons affecting you by 50%. I thought it might come in handy against LC."

"Kirito," I said as I put a hand on his shoulder. "You don't know how much you've just helped us with this item. Thank you so much."

"Don't be so serious about it, man. We're friends so I don't want to see you get into trouble," said Kirito, laughing off my seriousness. I smiled and proceeded to equip the ring. "So, Agil, what did you get him? You've known him longer than I have so you must have gotten him something good."

Agil perked up and I grinned, knowing he hadn't even thought about a present.

"U-Uh…well, my present isn't something physical really…" began Agil, scratching his cheek as he looked away.

"In other words, he forgot," said Kirito, causing me to chuckle.

"I didn't! I didn't! My gift is that you can use my forge for free from now on, no charge at all…though I wouldn't mind you selling me the armor you make at a _discounted _price," said Agil, causing Kirito and I to burst out laughing.

"Agil, I'm sorry but you're the biggest cheapskate!" I shouted, laughing loudly.

"And shouldn't you already be letting him use the forge for free? I mean, it's not like a stranger is using it," said Kirito, causing Agil to slump in defeat. We continued to laugh and Aiko popped in, wondering what the fuss was about.

"What's going on, Shikai?" asked Aiko, after popping in and clinging to my arm. I heard Liz 'Ahem' loudly from behind us and Aiko squeaked before blushing. "I-I mean _dear_."

"D-Dear?" I repeated, blushing at being called something. Liz and Asuna began to giggle, finding something humorous about the situation but we chose to ignore them. "W-Well…um…Kirito gave me this cool ring that makes it harder to be poisoned and Agil said I don't have to pay him to use his forge anymore."

"Shouldn't he have done that normally?" asked Aiko, causing Kirito and me to laugh again and Agil to slump down.

"What about you? Did you happen to get anything from the girls?" I asked, causing her to perk up.

"W-W-Well, Asuna gave me this cool armor impression kit so I can put designs on my armor like guild symbols and such," said Aiko, nervously. I prodded her to continue and she blushed a deep shade of red. "A-And Liz got me something that I'd rather not mention."

I turned towards Liz to find her covering her grin with a hand and a perverted gleam in her eyes. I sighed at the fact that she was teasing my new wife but nothing to do about it now.

"Well, we should celebrate your new marriage, but let's do it tomorrow. You two must be tired from today," said Asuna, causing Aiko and I to sigh in relief. We really were tired and we were glad we could get inside.

"Thanks for everything, everyone," said Aiko, brightly. Everyone smiled and waved as they left to their own locations and we proceeded inside.

We went up to our room and went in, sighing in relief as we fell down on the bed. A few minutes later, Aiko hopped to her feet, a bright blush on her face, and stared at the wall.

"W-Well, I'm going to take a quick bath," said Aiko before strutting over to the bathroom. I cocked a brow in confusion but chose to ignore her strange behavior as I changed into my pajamas.

Around 15 minutes later, Aiko finally came out and I could hear her come to the edge of the bed while I read the SAO newspaper.

"A-Ahem," said Aiko in an attempt to catch my attention. I swiped the newspaper and turned over to look at her, my eyes nearly bulging out of my head. "U-Um…Liz gave me this…D-Do you like it?"

Aiko was dressed in a thin, silky dress in which I could almost clearly see her bra and panties. A blush crept its way across my face and I daresay I might nosebleed if that's even a feature in the game.

"Shikai?" said Aiko, breaking me from my trance. "Do you like it?"

"Like it?" I breathed as I stared at her. "No, no I don't like it. I love it."

Aiko's expression brightened and she blushed before crawling on the bed towards me.

"L-Liz said I would need this for tonight b-because married couples always do…certain things…on their wedding night," said Aiko, blushing brightly. I looked at her and I laughed to myself. This girl was too pure for me to do that kind of thing right now. Best to wait until she's ready.

"Aiko, we don't have to do it today. We can do it whenever you're ready. I'm in no rush. However, this outfit of yours…I would be _more _than enthusiastic if you continued to wear it," I said, winking at her. She giggled at my words and leaned down to give me a soft kiss before pulling away to smile at me.

"Yessir!" said Aiko, saluting to me, causing me to chuckle. I pulled her down so she could lay down on my chest and tossed the sheets over us. I hit the light switch and cuddled with her.

"Good night, my _wife_," I said, proudly, causing Aiko to giggle.

"Same to you, _husband,_" mocked Aiko. "Love you."

"Love you, too," I said, lovingly, as I pulled her against me. She snuggled up against my chest and we were soon in the land of dreams, smiles on our faces.

* * *

_**So? What did you guys think?**_

_**Finally! Marriage! And all of our friends coming to congratulate! So nice, so sweet!**_

_**Also, for those who may have been hoping for a lemon, not yet ;) Who knows if I'll even put one. Though Aiko's attempt at seduction was nice xD**_

_**Anyways, Review and let me know what you guys thought and until next time...byeee :D**_


	21. Chapter 21

_**Hey guys, MT here!**_

_**Sorry I've been so sporatic with the chapters but I'm nearly going to college (and by nearly I mean next week) so next week's week chapter may be late. Hopefully I'll be back on a regular schedule by September because I really hate this random posting cycle.**_

_**Anyways, I'm sorry this is a short chapter but I've been having trouble thinking about what I want to happen next. I've been building up my relationship with Aiko but I'm not sure how I want to proceed. We'll have to see.**_

_**Well, ENJOY!**_

* * *

**Chapter 21**

**_The next day…_**

Aiko and I were on our way to meet Asuna, Agil, and Kirito at a nearby bar. They insisted on celebrating our marriage despite our appreciative protests. Liz had apologized because she couldn't leave her friends to run their new blacksmith shop alone.

"Well, well, how're the newlyweds doin' today?" asked Agil, happily, when we walked into the relatively empty bar. We sat down at the table our friends were at and an NPC waitress came to take our orders.

"We're doing alright, Agil," I said, happily. Asuna slid in between us and smiled brightly.

"Did you two make good use of Liz's present? She wouldn't tell me what it was but she said you two would have had a lot of fun with it," said Asuna, smiling brightly. Aiko and I tensed and blushed, brightly, causing Asuna to look at us with a confused expression. As if some kind of divine miracle, the waitress came with everyone's food, interrupting the awkward silence and causing Asuna to sit back down.

"A-Anyways, so Agil, how's the shop doing?" I asked, wanting to stray from the previous conversations.

"Hm? Oh! It's doin' great. When there was that hiccup on the 25th floor, where a bunch of people didn't make it, I lost some business but it's been picking up again since everyone wants to get back to floor clearing," explained Agil.

"Yeah, I heard that the 25th floor boss was a nightmare. I'm glad things are picking up again, though," I said, before scooping into some of my food.

"So what are you two going to do after this? Are you going to go on more romantic trips?" asked Asuna, swooning over some thought about a romantic honeymoon.

"C'mon, Asuna, stop teasing them. Knowing Shikai, he'll probably drag Aiko around this floor again. I've seen him swoon over some of the old architecture," joked Kirito, causing all of us to laugh.

"Actually," began Aiko after the laughing had subsided. "Shikai and I were thinking about going to back to the front lines. Not anytime soon but we thought we'd start preparing for our return. I'm planning on joining one of the major guilds."

"Really? Didn't know you two were so eager to get back to fightin'," said Agil, surprised by our eagerness to return to the battlefield.

"And what about your honeymoon?" asked Asuna, pouting as all her romantic fantasies died.

"We feel like we've been lounging about long enough," I said, chuckling a bit. "Aiko is going to join the DDA and they probably want to get her up to speed with all the guild rules and regulations."

"You two should be careful with that guild. I heard they can be pretty rough," warned Kirito.

"We've heard," I said, a serious expression.

"But one of Shikai's friends is in the guild and he seems higher up so I think he'll help us out. The second-in-command seemed nice too, though he was a little strict," said Aiko. Everyone finished their food by the end of the conversation, Kirito and I exchanging rumors about the guild and Aiko and Asuna exchanging love advice. Well, the latter was more Asuna teaching Aiko since Aiko didn't have much love experience.

* * *

Aiko and I made our way back to the DDA HQ and I was checking my messages again. I sent Bradley a message we were on our way so Aiko could join them and he seemed ecstatic.

"Well, well, well, if it ain't my bestest friend and his lovely new bride! Congratulations on yer marriage and now there isn't gonna be any kind of problem," said Bradley, a bright smile on his face. I high fived him and then followed him in.

"Bradley," called out a familiar voice just a few minutes after entering the base. We turned and found Schmitt strutting over to us. "I trust you've brought these two back for a proper reason."

"'Course, boss man. I brought'em back 'cause this young lady here is gonna join us. Oh, 'n' before yuh say anythin' this guy here is her husband so there isn't a problem," said Bradley, a smug smile on his face. Schmitt grinned at him and then turned to us.

"You'll make a fine addition to our guild, Miss," said Schmitt, eliciting a serious nod from Aiko, before turning to me. "Be sure to cherish her. She seems like an amazing woman."

"She is," I said before grabbing Aiko's hand. We smiled at each other and, by the time we looked back at Schmitt, he was already gone. We turned to continue following Bradley and he let us into the guild master's office. We walked forward into the small office which was filled with books in the stone bookshelves that lined the room. There was a large stone desk in the middle, near the back and a chair behind it.

"Uh?" I said, into the silence of the room. The large chair suddenly spun around and a light brown haired man, who also looked a bit on the feminine side, stared at us. They set down the book they were reading and linked their hands together before leaning into their hands.

"May I help you?" asked the man in an annoyed voice.

"My friend, Bradley, said that my wife could join your guild and just sent us in here. The second-in-command, Schmitt, also seemed to like her," I said, speaking out for Aiko.

"Schmitt liked her? He never likes anyone," said the man in an intrigued voice. "My name is Lind Rockwell. I'm half Japanese, half American, and the leader of the Divine Dragons Alliance. What's your name, girl?"

"Y-Yes! My name is Aiko! I've been training to be a tank and hope to be under your care, sir!" shouted Aiko, nervously, before saluting to Lind. I snickered in response and received a light glare from Lind, silencing me.

"Well, hello there, Aiko," began Lind before opening up his menu. A moment later a request appeared in front of Aiko. She hit the blue button and Lind smiled. "Welcome to the DDA."

"T-Thank you for accepting me!" shouted Aiko before bowing to Lind. Lind rose up after a few seconds of silence, smiling.

"Can I assume that you," began Lind, pointing at me. "Are her husband?"

I nodded, curtly, and he smiled.

"Then both of you come with me. It's not often I do this, but I'm in a good mood today because of a good raid on an Area Boss. I'll be your tour guide for today," said Lind, causing Aiko to smile brightly and beam at me in excitement. I smiled back and we laced our fingers together as Lind led us out of his office.

* * *

Lind led us around the entire base, showing us the training rooms, recruit quarters, cafeteria, blacksmith shop, etc. Aiko seemed so excited, bouncing from one thing to another. Lind also told him about himself. He talked about his obsession with rare items that could only be retrieved from special quests and Area Bosses. I felt slightly uncomfortable as I was kinda wearing my one of a kind Cloak of Alucard that I had received back on the second floor.

After we had looped around the base, Lind stopped in front of one of the training rooms and turned to us.

"Well, that's basically it on my part. I have to get back to work. Please try out the training room. It would be good for you to start getting used to some of our fighting styles and tactics, Miss Aiko," said Lind. Aiko nodded and he smirked before walking off. We entered the training room to find 7 guild members sparring with each other. Two stopped to take a break while the others continued. We wandered around to see what was in it. There were a plethora of dummies as well as a few punching bags and someone was standing in the corner near the entrance who was presumably that training room's coordinator.

"Hey, you guys new?" asked one of the members who was taking a break.

"She is. Would you mind sparring with her? She wants to see how people in your guild fight," I explained.

"Sure, why not. It's always good to help out the newbies. That way when they get good they can save you," said the member, grinning brightly. "I'm Shak, by the way. Hope we can be friends, Miss…?"

"A-Ah, my name is Aiko. I hope so, too," said Aiko before shaking his hand.

"Mind if I join in?" said the other member who was with Shak. "The name's Marucho. I'll spar with your boyfriend here."

"Actually he's my husband," said Aiko, proudly, before clinging to my arm. The two exchanged a glance and shrugged.

"Good for you. Glad people can trust each other like that," said Shak. "Anyways, why don't we go ahead and start out with sparring?"

* * *

We spared with Shak and Marucho for a couple hours before we were finally too tired to continue. We left the training room, waving them off, and returned to our room.

"That was fun, actually. The members seem nice," I said as I fell down on the bed. Aiko was standing in front of a mirror, brushing her hair, and she smiled.

"I'm really happy they are. They even seemed to like you, too. I would have hated it if people were mean to you," said Aiko, causing me to smile. I moved over to her and wrapped my arms around her waist just as she finished brushing her hair. She giggled and turned her head to look at me. "What?"

"I love how sweet you are, always worrying about me," I said, happily, as I nuzzled my face into her hair.

"Of course I do! I care about you," said Aiko, sweetly. I smiled and she turned in my arms to face me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and I pecked her lips.

"I would hope so. I mean, you did marry this one," I said, causing her to roll her eyes, a bright smile on her lips.

"Well I just love _this one _so you don't have to worry about anything," she said, causing me to chuckle before kissing her again, a bit longer this time.

"I love you so much. I can't imagine getting through this hell game without you," I said, seriously. Aiko giggled at my seriousness and my expression softened.

"You must be so happy that you saved me from those wolves back then," said Aiko, smiling at me.

"Best. Decision. Of. My life," I said, my emphasis causing Aiko to giggle again. We continued to tease each other into the night before falling asleep in each other's arms, exhausted from the day's antics.

* * *

_**So? What did you guys think?**_

_**Cute ending? I hope so.**_

_**Also, I've been wondering but do you guys care much about lemons? I plan to put at least one later on but I was wondering if you guys would like them or if they'd just be useless. If you don't want them then I'll just put the one and insinuate any others.**_

_**Review and let me know what you guys think!**_

_**Anyways, until next time...byeee :D**_


	22. Chapter 22

**_Hey guys, MT here!_**

**_I'm back from college move-in and I'm back to writing!_**

**_I hope you enjoy this chapter as I haven't had a lot of confidence in the story's progression since I've been having alot of trouble thinking of what to write next._**

**_Well, anyways, ENJOY!_**

* * *

**Chapter 22**

**_A week later…_**

"*pant* I finally beat you, Shak! I did it!" said Aiko, happily, after she had knocked down Shak. She was panting, harshly, from the exertion but she was still bouncing around in excitement.

"Great job, babe," I said, grinning at her. We both blushed after a moment, still not used to the way I called to her now.

"A-Anyways, why don't we take a break?" said Aiko as she helped Shak to his feet. I was just about to train on one of the dummies when Schmitt came in with a short hooded man.

"You three!" shouted Schmitt, catching our attention. "This here is a new recruit. He was getting a run down from some of the members in another training room but they were going on a raid. Would you mind sparring with him a bit?"

"Aiko and I just got finished sparring, Second," began Shak, trying to wave it off. "Why don't you have Shikai do it? He's watched Aiko and I spar enough to know how the DDA fighting style is supposed to be."

Schmitt glanced over at me and nodded before pushing the recruit into the room. He strut away and the recruit fidgeted nervously.

"Come on in," I said, trying to be friendly. "Let's see how your form is."

The recruit nodded, hesitantly, and began to move to the center of the room where I was. He pulled out a decent looking iron longsword and held it out in an unsteady stance. I quickly found the weaknesses of his stance and moved in to correct them.

"Alright, shoulders like this. Move your legs just a bit further and twist your foot into this position. Point the sword like this and make sure you swing in an arc in this direction," I explained as I tweaked his stance. "Be firm about your stance or I could do something like this."

As I finished my statement, I quickly ducked in under him and used my foot to pull his leg, causing him to lose his balance. He fell directly onto his ass and I held out my hand when he looked up at me. When he was to his feet, he moved back into the same stance and I could feel a more steady energy coming from his, causing me to grin. I pulled out my sword and moved into my normal stance before we began to spar, slowly.

* * *

We sparred for a few hours and I ended it when Aiko was called to raid a bandit tower which was rumored to have a rare item. I bit farewell to the new recruit and went with her, Shak, and two other DDA members. We arrived at the tower after a half an hour and we were quick to enter. I stayed at the back, so as not to interfere with the members' item search.

The tower was different than the one Aiko and I had entered awhile back. Not as much in the layout as the bandits who resided within it. The first bandit we encountered was a thin kobold with a scimitar. He was extremely quick and two of the DDA members had to deal with it at once in order to subdue it. The next ones were twin lizard-men who used coordinated attacks. Aiko and two of the members took them down without too much trouble. There were a few other less notable bandits, mostly orc tanks, and we got through with a lack of trouble until reaching the bandit leader room at the top of the tower.

"Where the hell is the bandit leader?" asked one of the members as we cautiously entered the room. I used my detection skill but could only find one enemy and they were in the wall…wait what?

"ROOOOOOARRRRR!" shouted a monster as it blasted through the wall, shooting rock and wood at us. We crowded behind Aiko and one of the members who used their shields to block most of the debris. Out from the hole came a large human-like being. He looked like an enormous dwarf, the giant brown beard and similar armor set. His eyes were an eggshell white one of his arms was replaced with a hook. He was wielding an enormous double-sided axe and he roared again as we watched him. Behind him, there was a clearly lit room which we suspected was where the rare item was located.

Shak and the two DDA members ran out ahead to attack him first, two weaving past attacks while the tank took an attack. They all worked on the chief and, when I glanced up, I noticed he had two bars of health. The first bar was already past the midpoint because of the attacks of the three members, however they were being worn out by the powerful monster.

"Hey, Aiko!" shouted Shak, panting a bit. "Can switch in with this guy? He's exhausted."

Said Shak, pointing to the tank who had taken quite a few attacks from the monster. Aiko nodded and ran forward to take an attack, leaving the other tank to fall back. I watched as Aiko took an attack, head-on, and gritting her teeth as she did so. It made me antsy, watching my fragile looking wife take an attack like that. Granted, she had raised her strength stat quite a bit but it was still nervous. I ended up playing with the handle of my sword, thinking about joining in, but still holding myself back. The monster's HP was already down to the last bar and more than a quarter down by that one. There shouldn't be any problem. Well, until it got below half.

When the monster's health fell below the halfway point of its last health bar, red veins shot across its white eyeballs and it roared before smacking away Shak and the other DDA member. The other tank jumped up and ran over to help Aiko but was quickly taken out, being thrown against Shak.

I ran forward, sword popped out of its scabbard. The monster was about to slash at Aiko with its axe and I knew she wouldn't be able to take such an attack. I ran into her, pushing her out of the way and yanked my sword from its scabbard, throwing it in front of myself in order to catch and redirect the attack. In the split second before the attack hit, I noticed a small icon floating next to the name of my sword, which appeared because of my appraisal skill. The icon was green with a skull and cross-bones.

I ignored it as I needed to focus on the attack instead. I caught the attack and began to tilt my sword so as to direct the attack to just next to me but I heard a crack and time froze. My eyes widened when I saw a tiny fracture in my blade. I couldn't believe it. I had just checked my blade's durability that morning. It had still been very high. It shouldn't be taking visible damage like that. Time began to move again as my brain unfroze and I saw the crack extend. I watched as the axe tore through my blade and I knew that I might die. Time was now at normal speed and the axe continued through my blade, splitting it in half and slicing right into my chest. I watched my health deteriorate to less than half and I could do nothing but stare in shock, eyes wide. The monster then grabbed me by my head and threw me against the tower's walls, so hard that the Immortal Object symbol came up on the wall. I coughed up saliva and watched my health fall even lower. All I heard was someone shriek my name, as my mind fell into oblivion.

* * *

I felt my consciousness slowly return to me and could see cursors through my closed eyelids. My health bar was regenerating and was just above half now. The closest cursor was Aiko, who I could faintly hear crying. I cracked my eyes open, wincing at the bright light.

"Shikai?" called Aiko, her tear-filled eyes looking at me. I cracked a small smile and she threw herself at me, crying loudly. "I was so scared! I thought you died! I didn't think I could save you!"

I wrapped an arm around her and held her to me, so happy that I had lived.

"Damn, man, I'm glad you finally woke up. She's just been sitting next to you crying for a half an hour," said Shak, peering at me from over Aiko.

"What happened when I went down?" I asked, curious as to how the monster was defeated.

"Aiko did it. Man, you are one lucky guy. She would make any guy drool with how easily she took him down. Though she was in a blind rage when she did it," explained Shak, his eyes dimming as he recalled that memory.

"Really?" I asked, a bit confused. Aiko could show anger? I didn't think it was possible.

"Yup, when she saw you get smashed into the wall she screamed and I and one of the members went to give you a potion. She got up after she saw us giving you the potion and turned to the monster and glared at it. When he tried to attack her she ran at him and knocked him down to the ground before catching another attack with her shield. She then proceeded to slice off the arm he tried to punch her with and then decapitate him, killing him. It was amazing. I didn't think she had it in her," explained Shak, surprising me. I glanced down at Aiko, who had her face pressed into my chest, and glanced back at Shak. "Yeah, I know. Well, after the monster was dead we took you into the back room. This room. It's like some kind of oversized bedroom. We even got the item. It was a magic sword called Durandal, though I don't know its stats."

I waved him over and tapped the sword, revealing ridiculous stats and even an effect. I read him the stats and then explained the effect.

"Durandal, being a holy sword, has the capabilities to do quadruple damage to all unholy creatures and any creature that is humanoid but not human, i.e. lizardmen, cat-people, etc. You also have a one in 5477 chance of instant killing any of these creatures, minus bosses," I explained, causing his eyes to bulge out of his head. He breathed out a 'Hot damn' and retracted to tell the other members. "Hey, Aiko, I'm okay, don't cry anymore."

"…Shikai…I'm so happy you're alive. I love you so much," said Aiko, her voice cracking.

"I love you, too," I said, lovingly, as I held her closer to me. She peeked up from my chest and placed a soft kiss on my lips, pulling back to look me in the eyes before pressing her lips to mine again. I returned the kisses and we continued to kiss until we heard a whistle and hushed laughing from behind us. I peeked past Aiko and glared at Shak and the other DDA members who were poking fun at us, annoying me.

"By the way, Shikai, what happened? Your sword broke so suddenly," said Aiko after deciding to ignore her fellow guild mates.

"I don't know. I checked this morning and my weapon durability was fine. I had at least another week before I would have needed to repair it. All I noticed that was different was that there was an icon next to my sword's name that had a skull and crossbones," I explained, a confused expression on my face.

"A skull and crossbones?" asked one of the DDA members, stepping forward. I nodded and his face contorted. "I've seen that before. There is something that we nicknamed a 'weapon poison'. It's a craftable acid that can be used on weapons. It has a very corrosive effect on weapons and can make the durability go from full to near broken in a matter of hours. Murderers like Laughing Coffin use it but it's extremely hard to craft and the only ways to get it to work is either apply to the weapon directly or apply it to a silver sword, which is immune to the acid, and hit the other person's sword. If you try the latter then you only have a 5% chance of it working."

"What? But then someone had to be using it when they sparred or fought with Shikai. He hasn't even used his sword except with…" said Aiko before gasping. She glanced at me and both our eyes grew wide.

"We need to get back to the guild," I said before jumping to my feet.

* * *

We arrived at the DDA HQ sometime later and I was wielding Durandal as my temporary sword. We entered, quietly, trying not to draw attention to ourselves as we searched for the culprit. We left Shak and one of the members at the entrance and continued on. Our first stop would be the leader's, Lind's, office to inform him of the situation. After we got there, I popped the door ever so slightly open to make sure nothing was going on. I immediately noticed that the boy I had been sparring with earlier was inside the room, Lind laying on his desk, struggling. I burst in, sword ready, and running towards the boy who turned around, slowly. I swiped at him with the blunt side of the sword, throwing him into the wall, and then stood in front of him, prepared to attack him again. Aiko and the other member went over to Lind and used an antidote crystal on him. He got up after the paralysis faded and wore a furious expression as he walked next to me.

"Who sent you?" asked Lind, obviously not in the mood to deal with him. He remained silent, staring at Lind with a scared expression. "Cut off his leg."

I glanced at Lind and he glared at me. Before I could decide whether or not to do it, the boy broke.

"O-Ok! Ok! I'll tell you everything! Please don't hurt me!"

"Who sent you?" asked Lind, again.

"I-It was Laughing Coffin!" shouted the boy, causing Aiko and I to tense. "They said that they'd let me join if I could get rid of that guy and I thought that if I got rid of the guild master, too, they'd see me on a higher level."

He pointed at me when he said 'that guy' and Aiko's expression immediately turned sour.

"How did he even know Shikai was here? And how did you get the poison that broke his sword?" asked Aiko, her voice nearly growling. Lind cocked a brow at her and she quickly summarized what had happened to me.

"I-I made the poison. I have a high alchemy skill which is the only reason they were going to let me join in the first place. As for how they knew, all I know is that Laughing Coffin has spies _everywhere_," said the boy, glancing back and forth between Lind and my sword. After a few moments of thinking, Lind turned to the DDA member, who had gone to bring reinforcements.

"One of you contact the ALF and tell them we've caught a PKer. For now let's throw him in the dungeon," said Lind, two of the members grabbing the boy and dragging him away. I sheathed Durandal and unequipped it in preparation to return it to Lind.

"You can keep that," said Lind, surprising me. "On top of the fact that you saved my life, you dealt with a lot because of my bad decision of not looking into that boy. Think of it as a form of repayment."

I nodded, and muttered thanks, before leaving with Aiko to rest from the day's antics.

* * *

_**So? What did you guys think?**_

_**I'm not sure how well it went but I hope you guys like it!**_

_**I may be doing a timeskip in the next chapter so sorry about that. Please Review and give me any ideas you might have!**_

_**Until next time...byeee :D**_


	23. Chapter 23

**_Hey guys, MT here!_**

**_I'm really REALLY confused as to what was going on with the chapters. When I came on to post this chapter, Chapter 22 was posted twice, once with part of the chapter and the other with the full chapter. I'm surprised nobody noticed. Well, either ways, I fixed it and now this is Chapter 23. I've been a little sick so please excuse the bad writing. Either ways, I hope it makes you SMILE! ;)_**

**_Well, anyways, ENJOY!_**

* * *

**Chapter 23**

**_Around a month later…_**

It's now in late May and Aiko had just finished hanging out with everyone. Agil has been relatively easy to meet up with but Kirito has been busy (only I know that he's even in a guild) and Asuna has been doing a lot in helping her guild, the Knights of the Blood, grow. Liz has also been with her friends, which is essentially a smithing guild, so she's been busy as well.

As we entered our room, we decided to play cards again since it had quite a while since we had last played.

"So what game do you wanna play, Shikai?" asked Aiko, curiously.

"Hm…" I began as to think of a card game. I then remembered one that my friends and I used to play in high school. "What about this game. The 'proper name' is Cheat. Basically what you have to do is each of us gets half the deck and we have to place down cards in order by saying 'Ace' then 'Two' and so on. The cards are placed upside down so you can lie and say you're placing one card but you're actually placing another. If you think the other person is lying then you say 'Cheat' and they have to flip the card. If they were lying they have to pick up the entire pile of cards, otherwise you do. The goal is to get rid of all your cards."

"That sounds like an interesting game. Let's try it," said Aiko, curious as to how the game was played. I dealt the cards so that each of us had 26 cards and I decided to start.

"Two aces," I said and placed down to cards. She then placed one two and I called her out because of the way her eye twitched when she said it. "Cheat!"

"What?! How did you know?" said Aiko, shocked that I saw through her. I grinned and flipped her card to reveal a four and I pushed the cards towards her. She picked it up while pouting and we continued onward.

After around ten minutes Aiko was beginning to get good and I was starting to pick up a lot of cards.

"Dammnit!" I shouted when Aiko called 'Cheat' on my card, making me pick up ten cards. She smirked and my eye twitched. She was totally teasing me. A couple minutes later she did the same thing to me and broke out in a fit of giggles, causing me to leap at her. She gasped and we fell together to the wooden floor, cards flying everywhere. "Do you think you're cute, teasing me like that?"

Aiko stared at me for a moment before she realized I was just messing with her and a smile stretched across her face.

"Hm…I think I'm _very _cute. What do you think?" said Aiko, teasingly. I grinned at her and leaned in until our lips were almost touching.

"I find you much more than just cute," I breathed, my breath gliding across her skin. She couldn't help but lean in ever so slightly and our lips just caressed each other before I slammed my lips into hers. We were quickly progressing as the heat in the room seemed to increase and she had to break for air after a couple minutes. I wasted no time in sliding my hand under her thigh and pulling it up so she was pressed up against me before I began placing kisses along her neck.

"Mmm…Shikaiii…" moaned Aiko. She pressed up against my chest, confusing me, and I looked up at her. "Not here, on the bed."

I smiled and got up while holding onto her, not loosening my grip on her, and walked over to the bed. We fell onto the bed and slid my hands into her shirt so I could rub her bare skin. She moaned as she felt my rough hands glide across her skin and that just revved my engine further.

"I love you so much, Aiko," I breathed out before kissing her again. She smiled at me when I pulled away and moved her hands to hold my face.

"I love you even more, Shikai," said Aiko before bringing my face down into a gentle kiss. I slowly moved my hands out of her shirt and helped her undress, starting with her clothes. As I did so, a pop-up appeared, asking if she was being harassed and she hit the red button before continuing. I slid off her jacket and then her blouse before she helped me with my coat and shirt. I then slipped off her pants and gazed at her in nothing but a bra and panties and she smirked when she saw a large bulge coming from my pants. She unbuttoned my pants and partially slid them off before laying me down. I helped her get them completely off and she straddled me before leaning in to kiss me.

"Are you sure you're okay with this, Aiko?" I couldn't help but ask. Even though we had come this far I'd do what I'd have to to restrain myself if she felt uncomfortable. She giggled a bit at my words and smiled at me, happy for my concern.

"I'm alright, Shikai. I love you and I want to do this," said Aiko, happily. I smiled in relief and knew there wasn't going to be a problem. She opened her menu, which confused me a bit, and began to go through her settings. "Technically, doing this isn't possible in the game without turning off a certain setting. One of the girls in the guild told me about it after she heard we were married. She thought it might've been…useful."

"Seems she was right," I teased, causing Aiko to playfully hit me before continuing to look for the setting. She smiled when she found it and hit it before looking to me.

"Now you," she said before showing me the setting. It was called the 'Ethics Code' and had a check box next to it. I turned it off and a warning came up asking me if I was sure. I clicked the blue circle and it disappeared. I smiled at her and our lips met once again. My hands moved to Aiko's bra strap and I released it with a pop before sliding it off of her. I couldn't help but gape a bit at her nearly nude figure before me. Her skin was so pure and white. Her breasts were of a perfect proportion. My mind would almost have been permanently frozen if I hadn't heard her giggle, causing me to look up at her. "You got bigger."

I blushed in embarrassment at the fact that I had reacted in such a way. She smiled before leaning against me to give me a chaste kiss, pressing her breasts to my chest as she did so. I rolled us both over and broke the kiss before sliding down her body, planting small kisses as I did so. She writhed, sensually, as I did so and I reached her panties. I slowly pulled them off before tossing them to the side and tugged her legs a bit apart so I could get a better view of her opening, causing her to blush in embarrassment.

"Shikai, it's embarrassing for you to stare like that," said Aiko, embarrassed. I noticed something a bit off in her voice but chose to ignore it as I thought it was nothing.

"You've got nothing to be embarrassed about. You're beautiful down here," I teased, causing her to roll her eyes at me. I then began to take off my boxers and released my member for her to see. I was fully erect and aching to enter her so I began to move towards her. "Are you ready?"

Aiko stared at my member, almost seeming a bit scared, but slowly nodded. I began to move towards her opening, prepared to enter her and, just before I entered her, I froze. Aiko's breathing had picked up significantly and I looked up at her. She was staring, wide-eyed, at my member and breathing in such a violent manner I thought she might have a panic attack.

"Aiko?" I called out to her. Her eyes remained in their fixed position and she lacked any response to my call. I moved from my position and slid around next to her and, hesitantly, touched her shoulder. "Aiko?"

Aiko all but leapt from her position on the bed and rolled over to the edge of the bed while covering her head. I was shocked and stared at her, wide-eyed. She remained in said position for a few moments before peaking past her arms. She gasped and dropped her arms immediately.

"S-Shikai! I-I'm sorry," said Aiko, worriedly, as she reached out towards me. I immediately covered my member, thinking it was the trigger for her reaction and brought the covers up so she wouldn't see it. She seemed to understand what I was doing and her eyes dropped before she turned around. I went and put on my boxers before moving over to her. She looked up at me, tears in her eyes, and I reached out to her, heartbroken but the depressed look in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Shikai. I can't believe I reacted that was towards you."

I wrapped her in the covers and planted a small kiss on her forehead before moving to the other side of the bed and laying down on top of the covers. She turned to face me and I hugged her to my chest.

"It's alright," I said, quietly, causing her to release more tears as she muttered 'Sorry' over and over again.

After a few minutes she seemed to calm down and we remained in silence until she spoke.

"I'm sorry, Shikai. It was my brother…" began Aiko, causing me to look down at the top of her head. "When it hit me that we were about to…to have sex…I remembered when my brother tried to rape me. How he had beat me and tried to force himself on me. Because of that, I just shut myself off to the idea and when you tried to do it I panicked and tried to defend myself."

"Aiko…" I said, pressing her tighter to me.

"I'm so sorry," said Aiko as the tears came back. "I love you so much but I ruined such an intimate moment."

"Aiko," I began. "We don't need to rush. It's only been a few months since that happened. You couldn't be over it yet, especially with how it was resolved. We can take it slow."

"But we _have _been taking it slow! Am I just supposed to make you wait forever?" asked Aiko in an angry tone, surprising me. "Don't you understand how it makes me feel when you're so patient and loving with me but I can't give anything back because I need to be babied?!"

"Aiko, I'm patient because I love you and I don't want to hurt you," I said, a little annoyed that she was saying such things.

"What if the only thing that could help me get over what I'm dealing with is by hurting me?" asked Aiko, seriously. I stared at her with a confused expression and it clicked that she was being serious.

"So what? You want me to force sex on you?" I asked, dumbfounded. She nodded and I stared at her for a moment. "Fine."

I ripped off the covers, startling Aiko, and flipped her on her back. I all but ripped off my boxers and I became erect rather quickly after looking at her naked body. Her eyes widened when she realized what I was about to do but I gave her no time to stop me before I plunged into her, eliciting moans from both of us. Aiko began to hyperventilate again but I shut her up with a deep kiss which seemed to relax her just enough that I felt comfortable moving inside of her.

I slowly moved back, almost pulling out of her, before thrusting back into her, causing her to moan into my mouth. I broke our kiss and she was beginning to pant for another reason.

"Shikai! Don't stop!" said Aiko after I began to get a rhythm. It seemed she had been right about her trauma's cure. Or at least she was so distracted she couldn't think of anything else. I thrusted into her with increased power and it only took a few minutes before I could feel her beginning to contract around me. I wasn't too far behind as I was beginning to pulse as I neared my climax.

"Aiko, I love you so much," I breathed as I pounded into her. She wrapped her arms around me as I breathed those words into her ear and she couldn't control the moans.

"I-Ah~- love you, too, Shi-Ahah~-kai," moaned Aiko. I felt her tighten up around me harshly and she screamed out while clawing into my back. "CUMMING!"

Her reaction sent me over into my own orgasm and I shouted out her name as I released my seed into her. I collapsed onto her after a moment, both of us panting, and I kissed her on her cheek.

"S-See? I told you so," said Aiko, panting, harshly. I couldn't help but grin at her words. "*gasp* I'm sorry, Shikai! Are you okay?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, confused by her words. She pointed to my back and I twisted my neck to look. There were glowing red claw marks on my back and I grinned. "At least I know I did a good job."

She pouted at my teasing and I chuckled before yawning, tired after our intense session. It only took a moment for us to drift off to sleep and another day was over. This time, though, Aiko and I were much closer than before.

* * *

_**So? What did you guys think?**_

_**So I ended up doing a time skip like I said and I finally brought Aiko and I together. Did the trauma cure seem a little rushed? I felt like it would be interesting to do something like that so why not.**_

_**Let me know what you guys think and until next time...byeee :D**_

_**Until next time...byeee :D**_


	24. Chapter 24

_**Hey guys, MT here!**_

_**Sorry I'm a bit late but between test after test and getting a new job, I've been a bit busy.**_

_**So, I finally had an idea for this chapter and I hope you all like it!**_

_**BEFORE YOU READ THIS CHAPTER PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF WHAT I AM ABOUT TO SAY!**_

_**There was a problem with my chapters when I posted last week's so if you haven't read chapter 23 go back and read it for this chapter!**_

_**Anyways, ENJOY!**_

* * *

**Chapter 24**

**_The next morning…_**

I groaned, sleepily, as I woke up. I feel a little blurry, still half asleep, and glanced at the clock. Six. Freaking. AM. I fell back against my pillow and sighed in annoyance. It's going to be one of those times where I randomly wake up really early. I felt a weight on my side and I glanced over to find Aiko clinging to me. I smiled at her and kissed her on the top of her head, remembering what had happened last night. We've come so far from the two strangers who met only months ago. As I caressed her head, I swore I heard something happening outside. I glanced towards the window but I didn't want to move Aiko from her comfortable position. Instead, I just curled around her and hugged her to me, her gentle warmth lulling me back to sleep.

* * *

I woke again later on and I opened my eyes to see a beautiful woman staring into my sleepy eyes.

"G'morning Shikai," said Aiko, lovingly. I smiled at her and she leaned in to kiss me lightly on my lips.

_Bang Bang Bang_

"Who could that be?" I asked, confused by the banging on the door. Aiko, reluctantly, pulled off of me and I got up and used my menu to put all of my clothes back on. I walked over to the door and opened it to find one of the bartenders from the bar downstairs, his expression worried. "What can I do-"

"Have you heard the news?!" said the barkeep before I could finish. I looked at him, puzzled and shook my head. "Someone was murdered outside the town by a small group of LC members and they're hiding somewhere in town. The army is searching for them so if you see any please tell them about it."

"Will do," I said, seriously. He nodded and moved onto the next room before I shut the door.

"What's going on, Shikai?" asked Aiko, confused, and pulling the covers up to cover her.

"LC is hiding in the city. We can either help find them or stay here until they all get captured," I said. She bit her lip, not sure what we should do, and I sat down at the edge of the bed. "Aiko, I want you to stay here."

"What? And leave you by yourself?" asked Aiko, a bit shocked.

"We're in a safe zone. They can't hurt me in any way nor can they poison me. I plan to just sneak around and see if I can find them but it would be harder with two people. Also this room is safer than going out," I explained, trying to get her to understand. She stared at me for a moment before crawling across the bed to wrap her arms around my neck.

"Shikai, you're right that you could sneak around easier without me and I know that we're in a safe zone but…I'm still worried. They got me and I was in a safe zone. I really don't want to leave you alone," said Aiko, worriedly. I smiled at her and kissed her lightly.

"I'll be fine, love. I promise I'll come back without a problem," I said, sweetly. She peered into my eyes, the worry still in hers but sighed. She muttered out a fine and I patted her on the bed before leaving the room.

* * *

I had gone around town for nearly an hour now trying to find them. I finally caught onto a trail and sent a message to Aiko letting her know that I had. She simply responded with 'Be careful' and I proceeded. The trail I found led me to near the edge of town and I began to become more cautious. If they led me outside town I wouldn't be protected by the safe zone. I creeped through and alley and heard two people talking.

"The fuck is this guy," said one of the people. I glanced just past the edge and I could see two people, one tall the other shorter. The shorter looked annoyed and impatient as he rubbed his spiky hair with one of his hands. In the other hand, he carried a short sword. I knew he was LC because I could see the tiny black coffin peeking out from behind the cuff of his sleeve. The other one was cloaked but I could only assume he was also LC by association.

"Calm yourself. I don't need another partner to die because he got impatient," said an eerily familiar voice. "I'm going to wait just outside of town. Make sure to bring the hostage."

I tensed when I heard they had a hostage and my eyes followed the shorter man as he walked over to some crates and yanked up an unconscious teen who was tied up. I watched the larger man leave and decided that now would be a good time save the hostage. I ran out after the shorter man and he grinned when he saw me before running. I growled and ran after him, knowing that if I didn't stop him before he exited town, he could kill the hostage.

I ran, trying to catch him, but it was difficult to speed up with all the turns in the alleyway. I could see the edge of the town and I cussed under my breath. I wasn't going to make it. Run! Run! RUN!

I burst forth, catching up to him and he gasped when he noticed how close I had managed to come. I was too late, though. He burst out of the safe zone and ran a meter or two from the edge just to make sure I couldn't get them. He stood there, grinning at me, and panting.

"Ha! I beat you, you fucking bastard!" shouted the man at me. I growled at him, standing just inside the safe zone. We were both distracted by a groaning and my eyes widened in fear while the man's mouth contorted in a fiendish grin.

"Uh…what?" groaned the hostage as he regained consciousness. He squirmed in the ropes and panicked when he saw the LC member next to him. "Hey, man, help m-! GAH!"

Before he could even finish his sentence, the LC member pierced his sword through the man's head, doing massive damage.

"Please, no! I don't want to die!" shouted the hostage. I popped out my sword and was about to jump out before the other LC member came around and pulled out his sword.

"If you want to save him, you'll have to get through me first," said the LC member. I panicked and glanced at the hostage. It was over. His health was already nearly empty. He looked at his health then at me and tears streamed down his face as he burst into pixels. I clenched my jaw and gripped the hilt of my sword tightly as the short LC member laughed.

The hooded LC member snickered a bit as he saw the pain in my eyes.

"I'm quite happy I get to pay you back from that time," said the hooded member, causing me to become confused. Have I seen him before? He removed his hood and I was finally able to see his face. It took me a moment, but I realized who he was. "Ahaha! I was hoping you would react that way. I'm glad you haven't forgotten about me. I mean, how could you forget about the one who lived after your rampage when you killed Daisuke and Bael. How long has it been now? I believe it was before New Year's."

That time…it was a dark time for me. I had almost been killed while doing a quest the day before New Year's and I ended up losing it and killing two LC members. The one who had escaped was named Zahir. That was when I stood out to the most infamous guild in SAO history.

"Now, who should we dispose of next? Maybe that lover of yours back in town? It wouldn't be too difficult and I would quite like to enjoy myself with her beforehand, though," said Zahir, licking his lips as he thought about what he planned on doing. His words infuriated me and I growled under my breath. I knew he was baiting me but I couldn't help but become angry at him. "Oh? Did that anger you? Well, think about this. Your life was over months ago. Laughing Coffin will never leave you alone so you might as well come at me now and let me kill you."

I continued to stand there, growling at him, and he sighed.

"Fine, seems you need more initiative," he said before he went into his menu and pulled up a video before swiping it towards me. In SAO, you could share videos in such a way and I, hesitantly, opened it. I was horrified by what I saw. It was a video of him torturing and killing people. I vibrated as I struggled to hold myself back. I watched as people cried and were slaughtered. Screamed out for help and were silenced. That was it. I lost it at that point.

I swiped away the video and lunged at him, yanking out my sword at the last second to swipe at him. He staggered back, surprised by my sudden movement but grinned when the shorter man blocked my slash.

"Hey! Don't fucking forget about me or I'll kill yuh!" shouted the man. I peered up at him from under my bangs and he staggered back, my glare burning into his eyes.

"AHHHHH!" I shouted as I pushed his sword out of the way. I slashed at him as he recoiled and took a chunk of his health before kicking off the ground towards Zahir. I stabbed him in the side and swiped out, taking a chunk of his health and causing him to grit his teeth. I moved back and forth between the two, dealing damage here and there without taking a blow, my glare freezing them. It wasn't long, though, before they began to move away from the town, luring me with them.

At one point, I defended against an attack but missed the other one and he stabbed right through me, paralyzing me. I growled before inconspicuously moving my hand to my antidote crystal. Just as I grabbed it, Zahir stabbed into me from the front. I had one sword in my side and the other through my front. I quickly checked my health and saw that it was going down much slower than I thought, meaning these two were much lower in level than me. I tried to use the crystal but I was stopped by something which also made me drop it.

I strained myself to turn and found another LC member was stabbing into my back.

"T-There were…three?" I breathed out, feeling the pain of having been impaled by 3 swords.

"Of course! I always love having a trio for a team," said Zahir, smugly. I growled at him and twitched. I wasn't going to be able to get out of this.

Shit…my health is going down even faster because I have three swords.

I was already at half health and an image of Aiko flashed in my mind. I squeezed my eyes shut and clenched my teeth.

I'm sorry, Aiko. I can't keep my promise…

"AHHHHH!" shouted a voice, causing my eyes to flicker open. I began to turn around and my eyes widened and my breath hitched at what I saw. Aiko was running, clad in armor, at us. Tears streamed down my face and I watched her come towards us, tackling away one of the LC members. She attempted to swat the others away but the one she tackled had regained himself and pierced her with his paralyzing blade. I roared out when she dropped to the ground, unable to move, and she stared at me with wide eyes.

"Ah! And so the lover comes to the rescue," said Zahir, grinning evilly. "Kill her."

The LC member was about to decapitate Aiko and, as the sword was coming down, time almost slowed and I could see her mouth 'I'm sorry'.

"NOOOOOO!" I shouted, furiously. There was an explosion of pixels and the LC member's sword dropped to the ground. Aiko stared, shocked, as well as the other LC member and Zahir. I had thrown my sword at the LC member about to kill Aiko and decapitated him.

"H-How can you move? The paralysis should still be affecting you," said Zahir, shocked. I turned to look at him and he visibly flinched when he saw the look on my face. I somehow lost it even more than previously. I moved my body so that I was facing the LC member and Zahir. They just froze and watched me as I reached out and grabbed both of their necks. They released their swords and attempted to yank their necks free but my strength stat was higher than theirs and I all but crushed their necks, nearly killing them. I smashed the LC member into the ground after releasing Zahir, killing him, and then turned to Zahir who was crawling backwards. "W-Wait, please, I was just kidding. Don't do this! Please don't kill me!"

I activated a Sword Skill caused my fist to glow and I lunged at him before smashing into his face, wiping out the last of his health. His expression was shocked before he blew up in a plethora of blue pixels and I sighed, still furious. I wobbled over to Aiko and took my antidote crystal with me. I moved over to Aiko and used it, releasing her of her paralysis. I remained knelt next to her and could see her watching me with a worried expression. I merely remained frozen in that state as she watched me, unsure on how to react. Though how exactly are you supposed to react…when you just murdered three people to protect your loved one.

* * *

_**So? What did you guys think?**_

_**I know it was depressing part but it's nothing you guys haven't seen before.**_

_**Review and let me know what you guys think.**_

_**Until next time...byeee :D**_


	25. Chapter 25

_**Hey guys, MT here!**_

_**Sorry I'm a bit late but college work takes FOREVER to get done. I got a little backed up.**_

_**Anyways, I'm sorry that this is a short chapter but I kinda ran out of things to write. I have an idea for what to happen next but I'm going to do a time skip to some time in the anime because I can't really find any interesting, non-depressing, things to write about.**_

_**Well, ENJOY!**_

* * *

**Chapter 25**

It had been ten minutes since I killed the three LC members, Zahir being among them. I was still kneeling next to Aiko and she just continued to watch me as I stared, blankly, at the ground. She shuffled over to me and placed a hand on my own but frowned when she received no reaction. She squeezed my hand and sat next to me before leaning next to me.

"Do you know how I found you, Shikai?" asked Aiko, not really expecting a response. "I hadn't realized this, but you can track people on your friend's list. When you hit their name 2 little bubbles come up, one for messaging and the other for tracking. I discovered it a couple weeks ago. I never really noticed it otherwise. I used it to find you. When I saw you moving towards the edge of town, I got worried and followed you."

I could feel Aiko grab the sleeve of my chainmail and feel her tense.

"I was so scared when I saw that you were outside the safe zone. I was so frightened that I would be too late," said Aiko, her voice cracking. Her soft cries brought me back to reality.

"I…" I began, causing her to perk up and look at me. I could feel tears building up in my eyes and my voice cracked. "I tried…I tried so…so…so hard. I didn't want to kill anyone anymore. I was just going to take them down and arrest them. I didn't want to kill them. No matter how hard I try to be good, why can't I stop being bad?"

Aiko watched as tears streamed down my face and she quickly hugged me into her chest, the cold metal of her armor pressed itself to my face.

"You're not bad, Shikai," said Aiko, her voice cracking. "You are such a very very very good person…and because you're such a good person, you have to do the bad things to protect the people you love. I'm so sorry I came out here and made you do something so horrible. It's all my fault."

I heard her crying and I slid out of her hold to look her in the face. I then hugged her tightly to my chest and she hugged me back after a moment. We held each other as we cried and, after we were cried out, we stood up on shaky legs. We were about to enter the town again when a small group of members of The Army and the DDA came out of the town.

"Halt! What's been going on over here?" shouted one of The Army members.

"We heard witnesses say that some people were fighting out here. They said they saw someone impaled in the head and die," said another member. The leader of the group stepped forward, the only thing distinguishing from the rest was the sash that when across his armor.

"Where are the rest of the people that were here?" asked the leader, sternly. When we stared at them, blankly, he growled. "Answer me!"

"Please wait a moment," said a man from the DDA group. He stepped out of the crowd and he was revealed to be Schmitt. "The woman is a DDA member and the man is her husband."

"C-Captain Schmitt," said Aiko, surprised to see him there.

"You two look like you've seen a bit of hell. Why don't we go back to a bar and talk about this," said Schmitt, receiving nods from Aiko and I.

"Now wait a minute! I was interrogating these two. You can't just take them away!" shouted the leader of The Army group. Schmitt glared over at him and eh tensed.

"So…may I take that as an act of aggression towards the Divine Dragons Alliance? The woman is one of our members. I, as the second-in-command, have every right to be able to interrogate her myself. As for her husband, I also have the right to interrogate him since he is involved with her," said Schmitt, menacingly. The leader visibly flinched at a threat from the DDA and he frowned but muttered out a 'Fine'. Schmitt grinned and then beckoned Aiko and I to follow him back into town.

* * *

Aiko, Schmitt, and I moved to a bar, which was being guarded by the DDA, and we explained everything to Schmitt. He didn't seem surprised when we told him about killing all the LC members.

Now he was staring off into space as he thought and finally sighed.

"Shikai, we understood your and Aiko's situation to a certain degree prior but it seems to be a bit more serious and may get even more serious," said Schmitt, causing me to tense.

"W-What do you mean, Captain?" asked Aiko, worried by his words.

"That man…Zahir…is one of the five commanders of Laughing Coffin," said Schmitt, causing my expression to go blank. "Within LC, there is PoH, the Guild Leader, and the five commanders: Red-Eyed XaXa, JohnnyBlack, Zahir, Gio the Joker, and one more that we still haven't discovered the identity of."

"What should we do then? We can't just stay in hiding for the rest of the game!" shouted Aiko, panicking.

"I was about to get to that. Shikai, how exactly did you break free from the paralysis poison? Normally the ones made from LC members last at least 10 minutes and from your story no more than a few minutes could have passed," said Schmitt, curiously. Without looking at him, my expression still blank, I opened my menu. I scrolled over to my skills and looked for one in particular. I swiped my menu to the right and it revolved around so Schmitt could see it.

"Zepar Body?" said Schmitt, confused by the skills name. Normally, skills in SAO were literal like 'One-handed' of 'Weapon's Appraisal', but this skill had a strange name.

"Zepar is a name for a type of demon. It's a bit vague the name basically says what it means, I just never realized it until now. 'Zepar Body' is a skill that makes me immune to poisons," I said, calmly. Aiko and Schmitt's eyes widened and they looked at each other. "I know it is because, aside from my combat stats, it gained experience. I've had that skill for a couple weeks and I couldn't raise it any other way. Until now, when I was attacked by a poisoned weapon."

"That's amazing! Do you know the pre-requisites? If we could help other people get this skill, poisons would be useless and we could properly take care of LC," said Schmitt, excited.

"Don't you think I would have shared it if I knew?" I began, leaning forward. Emotion began to fill my face and Schmitt's excited smile vanished. "This skill just…appeared one day. Why did it, though? There are so many good people out there who need this skill to protect them from Laughing Coffin. Why did I get it? What kind of blessing is given to a murderer?"

Aiko and Schmitt were silent for a moment and Schmitt spoke out.

"One who kills for the good of others," said Schmitt, causing me to perk up. Before I could respond, Schmitt continued, not wanting me to interrupt him. "My philosophy is every life is worth another. If you plan to extinguish a life, you have to be prepared for yours to be used as compensation. Think about how many people each LC member can kill. Hell, Zahir has probably killed dozens just like the other commanders. By taking their lives, you ensure the lives of some many others. And not just the ones in this game, but the ones that will be born from the people who survive this game. Think of all the young people who have yet to get married and have children. They'll have that chance at life and creating new life because you stopped people in LC from killing them."

I sat there, unable to react. He was right. Even though I've taken lives, I never truly considered who was being saved in the process. Sure, I wanted to keep Aiko safe but I always did think what they were doing was wrong. I just never thought what I was doing was any better. I still feel horrible for killing people but at least I see a little light in this situation.

Schmitt got up and walked away, a smile on his face as he knew his words had gotten to me, and he exited the bar. I could hear Schmitt yelling at his men that it was time to go and Aiko and I were left in silence. After a few minutes, Aiko nudged me and I glanced at her. She smiled at me and I nodded before we both got up and intertwined our fingers. We walked back to the inn we were staying at in silence.

* * *

Back at the inn, Aiko and I entered, still silent. I sat down on the bed and unequipped everything except for a t-shirt and shorts, as did Aiko. I sat and stared off, blankly, again and I could feel the bed shift and hear Aiko shuffling across it to me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me into her and I placed a hand on her forearm in reassurance.

"Remember what Captain said, Shikai," said Aiko, simply. I smiled and quickly slid my arm in between us before yanking her around me. She squeaked in surprise and I pulled her onto my lap before placing a deep kiss on her lips. She calmed down almost immediately and returned the kiss with the same fervor.

"You still love me, right?" I breathed out when the kiss broke. Aiko stared at me, worried, but smiled when she only saw a need for reassurance in my expression. She leaned in to kiss me, lightly, on the lips and then pulled back.

"Forever and always," said Aiko, sweetly. I smiled at her and pressed our foreheads together.

"Forever and always," I said before leaning in for another kiss. We just continued to kiss like that. Sweet and pure…until it got hot and dirty.

* * *

_**So? What did you guys think?**_

_**Depressing? Happy? I'm pretty sure its the former.**_

_**Also, FINALLY I revealed the new skill. I've been toying around with the idea since before I started this story. I had made up the name but I thought about what to make it about. I decided on poison resistance because it would be the most useful in my fight against LC.**_

_**What do you guys think will happen next? Zahir is dead (most of you probably didn't even remember him from his original appearance) and LC is prepared to attack. I'm just as curious as you to see where this story will be going.**_

**_Before I let you guys go, I don't know if anyone noticed but I have a LOT of easter eggs in this story. From quotes from the bible to names coming from translated words to references to both my life and the things I like. I wonder if any of you have picked up on them :3 If you do feel free to comment about them._**

**_Anyways, until next time...byeee :D_**


	26. Important Notice

_**Hey guys, MT here!**_

_**I'm sorry to say but there will be no new chapter today. Or for awhile.**_

**_To be honest, I came into this story with quite a few ideas but my passion for it has died quite a bit and I don't feel compelled to write weekly chapters anymore. This story will still continue but I won't be writing weekly chapters anymore, maybe monthly instead. I deeply apologize to those of you who liked this story but, as opposed to my other two fics, I'm not getting enough feedback from people who read it nor am I getting the same number of views that would fuel my drive to write like my other fics. Please understand._**

**_This fic, by the way, will be replaced in the weekly chapters with a time-traveling Highschool DxD fanfic which I hope you all will read. It will be coming out sometime in the following week so look forward to it!_**

**_Love you all, and until next time...byeee :D_**


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